


Eat You Up, I Love You So

by RebelPaisley



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: Accidents, Adult Language, Angst, Anxiety, Bigotry & Prejudice, Broken Enchantment, Chad-centric, Childhood Friends, Comedy, Comfort, Complete, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cuddling & Snuggling, Declarations Of Love, Depression, Dubious Consent, Dubious Consent Due To Love Potion, Dyslexic Chad, Engagement, F/F, F/M, Fights, Fluff, Forced Separation, Found Family, Growing Up, Guilt, Happy Ending, Heartbreak, Idiots in Love, Isolation, Jealousy, Long-suffering Teammates, Love Confessions, Love Potion/Spell, Low Self-Esteem, M/M, Marking, Miscommunication, Movie: Descendants (2015), Movie: Descendants 3, Multi, No Beta we die like vikings, Non-Graphic Suicide Attempt, Not Audrey Friendly Sort Of, OT4, Ostracization, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Percieved Breakups, Politics, Polyamory, Post-Descendants 2, Pre-Descendants (2015), Protective Ben, Public Breakdown, Puppy Love, Recovery, Referenced Neglect, Referenced Nightmares, Repression, Romance, Roughhousing, Running Away, Sex Toys, Sexual Situations, Slash, Social Change, Social Obligations, Time Jump, Unhealthy Conditioning, Voyeurism, compulsive tendencies, doting, fake dating sort of, mild assault, oblivious chad, outcast
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:55:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 63,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28816692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebelPaisley/pseuds/RebelPaisley
Summary: An accidental meeting between Uma and Chad before Cotillion has the captain rethinking her strategy of love enchanting Ben.  At least, to her.  She decides to change tactics, leading Chad to be introduced as Gentleman of the Court, which… actually works out?  The Tourney team certainly seems supportive enough, and Mal wasn’t biting off any heads so… win, win.That’s where the romance starts, but the story actually begins almost nine years before that, when Chad and Ben meet at the ripe age of eight.Also known as: The play-by-play retelling of the epic, obliviously reciprocated romance of Chadwick James and Benjamin Florian.Also, also known as: The adventures of the Auradon Prep Tourney Team juggling two lovesick idiots and also trying to win a game.  Just one.  Just one game.
Relationships: Background Ben/Audrey Rose, Ben/Chad Charming, Ben/Chad Charming/Evie/Jay, Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants), Chad Charming/Audrey Rose, Chad Charming/Evie, Chad Charming/Evie/Jay, Chad Charming/Jay, Evie/Jay (Disney), Gil/Harry Hook/Uma, Mal/Audrey Rose (Disney), Past Chad Charming/Audrey Rose
Comments: 68
Kudos: 103





	1. Cotillion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: Of all the stories I have written, this is one that upset me the most while writing it. Probably because it has to do with long-term depression. So please like, be warned when you go in reading this.
> 
> EDIT - upon re-reading that note, it makes this story sound a lot more hardcore than it is. For the most part, it's a dumb romantic comedy, but it does have a few scenes that are sad, and I try to give ample warning for them accordingly.

Chad didn’t want to go to Cotillion.

Or, more specifically, he did not want to go to Cotillion without _Audrey_. Which was a problem, because her limo had broken down in Sherwood Forest. 

Chad had plans to go and magically save the day, as was the expectation of every dashing prince, only Audrey didn’t want to wait six hours for him to show up so she’d just called a tow truck herself. It was significantly less magical, and things had only gotten worse because the sole reason Audrey had called was because she didn’t want Chad to go to Cotillion without her. 

Which, emotionally, was not a problem for Chad. He didn’t want to go without his perfect pink princess either. But like, there were certain _expectations_ he had to live up to.

Granted, neither Chad’s father nor grandfather talked to him much, but they would occasionally have one of their many assistants forward a list of what Chad assumed was the bare minimum expectations for what he needed to do as a prince. They had dropped their standards somewhat over the years, so the list had lost items like ‘ _get on the honor roll_ ’ (because no matter how hard Chad tried, he just _couldn’t_ , and it didn’t help that the words tended to flip around on him but he had no one to explain that to so perhaps he was just dumb) and _‘be class president_ ’ and traded them out for ‘ _show up to all your classes_ ’ and _‘be at Cotillion_ ’, but Audrey didn’t _want_ him at Cotillion, so there were… problems.

Chad liked keeping Audrey happy. He couldn’t always do it, but occasionally he could make her laugh and give him a smile that made him feel like he might actually be capable of a happily ever after, and sure, those moments were rare, but that just made them more _special_.

And now he was going to significantly piss her off by attending an event she wouldn’t be at that would celebrate _Mal’s_ glory, which was pretty much the epitome of bad boyfriend-ship, but his grandfather’s assistant had already made it clear that it was better to be a bad boyfriend than a worse prince (he was already a bad one of those, and they all knew it). 

So to Cotillion he went. 

Chad lingered in the lower decks of the ship to try and kill time, knowing he needed to make a public appearance but hoping if he kept it as brief as possible Audrey wouldn’t be _too_ mad. That was what eventually had him seeking out Ben, because the king had to make a dramatic entrance anyway after everyone else had showed up, which meant he was going to be chilling in his own private room, probably thinking very regal thoughts. Or brooding. Ben did that sometimes. 

Chad wasn’t stopped by any guards because he was _Chad Charming_ , and also pretty harmless in the grand scheme of things, which would have hurt were Chad not a realist. As it was, he was glad he’d get a chance to hang out with Ben, because the king had been so very busy lately doing king-stuff, and Chad was busy um… trying not to be a failure. 

So. Different priorities.

“Ben,” Chad greeted, not really bothering to knock because it wasn’t like Ben would be doing anything risqué anyway. “What’s up? I’m gonna hide down here with you because Audrey is stuck in…”

Chad trailed off when he realized Ben was not, in fact, alone. 

_In fact_ , he was staring attentively (and almost dreamily) at some teenager Chad had never seen before, dressed in an eclectic ballgown that could very well be one of Evie’s creations. The dress matched her hair, which was done in like, a hundred aqua braids, which immediately ranked this human as _super cool_ and thereby out of Ben’s league. Like, _Mal_ was out of Ben’s league, the dude was a nerd. 

Why was he staring at this random stranger?

“He…llo?” Chad offered with a small wave. “Sorry, I didn’t know you had company.”

“Hey, Chad,” Ben said, not pulling his gaze off of the new girl who eyed Chad with a wariness that was entirely unwarranted. “Have you met Uma? This is Uma.”

“Hey, Uma,” Chad greeted, trying out his most charming smile and getting a glare for his efforts.

“Isn’t she pretty?” Ben sighed which- what? That wasn’t a thing Ben did. He was all about complimenting a person’s _drive_ and intellect over their _looks_. Which was unfortunate, because Chad was very pretty, and Ben hadn’t mentioned it in _forever_. “I love her so much.”

The comment, casually offered, brought Chad’s confusion to a shuddering halt.

Because he finally knew what was up.

“ _Aw_ , Ben – did you get love potioned again?” Chad asked, sighing. He only knew Ben had gotten potioned the first time because on occasion, Chad could be a sneaky sneak and also perhaps he had bugged Ben’s coronation carriage. He turned to the new girl. “Did you love potion him? Ben is super susceptible to those.”

“Why would you say that?” Uma asked, her tone that of a defensive human who had love potioned the king.

“Because Ben’s totally in love with Mal?” Chad said. 

Which had always seemed a bit weird in Chad’s book, because Mal had started that relationship off by spelling Ben, but that had gotten Chad Audrey so he made a point not to comment on it.

“No, Chad,” Ben urged, his eyes wearing the half-lidded stare of someone who was definitely enchanted. “I met Uma last night on the Isle, and I fell in love with her strong spirit-”

“No, you didn’t,” Chad sighed, thinking of what he was supposed to do now. He should probably call someone. Perhaps Fairy Godmother? She was always kind of weird around Chad, but like, perhaps now was the time for that particular fairytale to be recreated. “You got spelled, dingus. Did she ask for anything from you?”

“Mmm-hmmm,” Ben hummed, going back to gazing at Uma with open adoration. “I’m gonna drop the barrier for her.”

“Oh, wow- that’s a terrible idea,” Chad said, making a face. He turned back to Uma. “Like, I get wanting to get the kids off the Isle, because they _should_ be off the Isle-” Chad might be dumb but he’d eventually realized the truth to that point. “-but dropping the barrier will set _all_ the villains out. Like, you know, _Jafar_ and the Horned King and a bunch of evil ass wizards and stuff. We can’t let them out.” Chad turned back to Ben. “But you should totally let the rest of the kids out, man. Why haven’t you done that yet?”

“Because he’s a piece of _shit_ ,” Uma snapped, and this outburst further supported how deep Ben was under, because he didn’t so much as flinch as Uma began to angrily pace the room. Eventually she paused, turning to face Chad with a mighty scowl. “So no one’s going to believe this?”

“Is anyone going to believe Ben fell in love with a stranger he met yesterday? No,” Chad confirmed, wondering why she had even thought it was a possibility. “Like, love at first sight is a thing, but Ben wasted that on Mal, so…”

“So…” Her brows furrowed in thought. “What if he fell in love with someone he already knew?”

“Like Mal?” Chad asked, hopeful. Perhaps if he got Uma to break Ben’s enchantment Chad would earn like, bro points. And then perhaps he and Ben could hang out on his birthday, like they used to sometimes. 

Those were the best days.

“No, dipshit.” Uma rolled her eyes. “Like you.”

“I don’t know how that would help the situation,” Chad replied honestly. He also sort of wondered why he hadn’t run for the door yet. That probably would have been the first thing a smart person like Doug would have done, but _no_ , Chad had to go be all curious and _distractible_.

“You don’t need the big picture,” Uma said, cradling one of her necklaces between her hands. It was a shell, and it seemed to be glowing, casting off a generous light that slowly filled the room. “You just need to do what I say.”

Which was _what_ , exactly?

But Chad would not get the answer to this question, because after that everything went dark, which was not the greatest beginning to Cotillion

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad struggled to awareness slowly – a reluctant thing, because he felt so very comfortable. It took him a few moments to register _why_ though, because he wasn’t on a mattress or anything. He seemed to be… held, he guessed? Yeah, he was being held by someone, cradled against their chest and that should- that should be weird because Chad hadn’t done it in so long, had only _dreamed_ of it, and now it was here and he didn’t want it to ever go away. 

So he wanted to stay asleep.

Only there was a hand brushing against his cheek which was _also_ something that never happened to Chad, and that prompted enough curiosity for him to cautiously open his eyes.

Oh. _Shit_ , he was leaning against Ben’s chest. No – he was like, splayed out on _top_ of the king as they rested on the couch in his private cabin, and that should be mortifying but Ben was staring at him with this look that was all sweet that made Chad’s stomach feel fluttery, made his heart feel like it was going to leap into his throat. 

“Hey, Chad,” Ben greeted, stroking the blond’s cheek carefully. “You okay?”

“Y-Yeah.” Chad could feel himself blushing, wanted to lean into the contact but knew that wasn’t his place. The thought made him sad for some reason, but that had literally _never_ been Chad’s place so he didn’t know what that was about. “Um… what happened?”

“You guys had a big confession of love and shit,” a new voice said, and then Chad sort of flailed against Ben when he realized they weren’t alone, another teen dressed in like, pirate gear or some shit sitting on the chair by Ben’s desk. “It was disgusting, by the way. You made out and then passed out and now we’re here.”

They had _love confessions_? The very thought of it made Chad flush down to his toes, because that meant he’d- he’d told Ben he’d loved him and Chad wasn’t supposed to _do_ that but if they had made out did that mean Ben loved him too?

Fuck, did Ben _love_ him?

It didn’t help that Ben laughed this melodious, tantalizing sound that made Chad shiver. “Chad, this is Captain Uma. I assume since you’re here…”

“Yeah,” she cut him off with a roll of her eyes. “I decided to take you up on your offer to _make things better_. But we aren’t pussy-footing around with this, okay? We’re gonna get shit _done_.”

Ben’s smile went wide and sort of brilliant, and Chad wanted to spend eternity basking under its might. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Cool,” Uma drawled, her finger tapping against the knee of her weathered pants. “So, you really gonna do it?”

“Do _what_?” Chad did not squeak, but um, he definitely blushed, then blushed harder because Ben was tracing his cheek again and looking at Chad like he was special and that was a difficult thing to deal with.

“His gift to you,” Uma said dismissively, though there was a definite smirk pulling at her lips. “Since you’re gonna be his _Gentleman of the Court_ or whatever.”

“Oh, right!” Ben said, dropping his hand away from Chad’s face and that was a shame, but then he was taking Chad’s hand in his own and _holy shit that was Ben’s signet_ _ring_. Chad had Ben’s signet ring on his _finger_. When had that even happened? “Shit, I don’t have a gift for you. I spent all that time making the stained-glass window for Mal-” Chad whined at that, couldn’t help it, but Ben rushed to continue, tilting Chad’s head back before he could hide it against the king’s chest. “I wanted it for you, Chad. I didn’t know how to say it, but I _wanted_ it for you, so please don’t- please don’t be sad.” 

He leaned forward and then they were- yeah, that was Ben kissing Chad, and it was not at all like Audrey’s kisses, which were demanding and sometimes painful. This was soft and sweet and left Chad feeling breathless, left him wanting more when Ben pulled away with a smile.

“I love you,” the king murmured, saying the words Chad hadn’t realized he needed to hear until that moment. “I’ve always loved you, and I’m sorry it took me this long to realize that.”

“Ben…” Chad didn’t know what to say, could only reach up tentatively and feel elated when Ben didn’t bat his hand away like Audrey had so often. “I love you too, and I can’t offer you much-”

“Just be you,” Ben said, cupping Chad’s face between his hands before _kissing him again_. When he pulled back, he was flushed and smiling. “That’s all I need. I just need you.”

“But I’m-”

“Perfect,” Ben said, and then he was going in for another kiss-

Uma chucked a wad of stationary at Ben’s head. “You guys already did this,” she groaned, slumping back against her seat like she was the most put-upon human in the entire world. “We get it, you love each other, _great_. Now answer my question.”

“The one about Chad’s gift?” Ben asked, nuzzling Chad closer since he wasn’t allowed to kiss him, and Chad was very okay with this. “…what did I say I was going to do again?”

“ _Ugh_.” Uma let her head fall back with a groan. “You said you were gonna bring over the next batch of kids from the Isle, including his cousin, Dizzy.”

“I have a cousin?” Chad asked, perking up. 

He didn’t know he had cousins. Well, he hadn’t known he’d had aunts until he’d gone to Auradon Prep and Aziz had told him, because Chad didn’t know much about his mom’s side of the family. His grandfather didn’t like talking about it. 

Uma shot him a look similar to how Audrey viewed him, like he was the stupidest person on the entire planet. “Yes, you have a cousin. How did you not know you have a cousin?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Ben said, stroking Chad’s hair. “What matters is that I can’t think of a better present for my thoughtful little Kitten.”

“ _Ben_ ,” Chad groaned, not realizing the king had remembered his attempted childhood nickname, because his dad had been _Kit_ so Chad had tried to add on to that before his grandfather’s assistant had let him know it was _stupid_. “I’m not- I’m not _thoughtful-_ ”

“Sure, you are,” Ben chirped, cuddling Chad close. “You just don’t like people to know it. You’re the one that arranged for that anonymous donation of material to help with Evie’s startup.”

“I _did not_.” Chad flushed, because Ben wasn’t supposed to know about it. Granted, Chad wasn’t the best at paperwork, but Aziz had promised to help cover for Chad because the blond had felt really bad about trying to make Evie do his homework (he just wanted like, _one_ A so he could show his dad and they could perhaps have a conversation, only he’d never made it past his literal army of secretaries and no one cared anyway). 

“Yes, you did.” Ben nuzzled his hair, one of his hands stroking Chad’s hip. “Aziz told me.” He lifted his hand to finger the edge of Chad’s cloak. “You even commissioned a piece from her to help spark interest.”

“Um…” Chad ducked his head shyly. “Do you um… like it?”

Chad hadn’t known it, but he realized now that he’d commissioned the fancy cloak mostly, if not entirely, to catch Ben’s eye. Chad had wanted to be _pretty_ for him, because Audrey didn’t care so long as Chad wasn’t pulling focus from her, but if Chad could catch Ben’s eye, perhaps they could…

Well, he hadn’t expected _this_. 

“I…” Ben began slowly, tilting his forehead against Chad’s in a level of casual intimacy that made the blond’s breath catch. “-like it _a lot_. In fact…” He ducked his head so he could breathe directly into Chad’s ear, making him shudder. “I would like to see you in nothing _but_ that cloak.”

“ _Ben_ ,” Chad gasped, scandalized, but Ben only kissed him, dragging Chad forward until he was in Ben’s lap, that was the king’s lap and Ben _wanted_ him there-

“Guys,” Uma groaned, making them pull apart with a sigh. “I feel like I need a spray bottle for you two dopes.”

“Sorry,” Ben offered. “I can’t help it. I hadn’t… I hadn’t realized all this time I was struggling with Mal that I just really wanted Chad.”

“And um…” Chad flushed, because that was music to his ears he didn’t even know he needed. “Same thing with me and Audrey, I mean.”

“Yeah,” Ben laughed. “They keep telling us we need princesses but you-” He cupped Chad’s cheek again. “You’re everything I need.”

“Oh shit.” Chad was hit by a certain panic. “I can’t give you babies, Ben. Your dad’s totally going to kill me and my grandfather’s going to kill me and-”

Ben silenced him with a kiss. “We’ll get Fairy Godmother to help us,” he decided when he pulled away again. “She made Jane from magic, she could um… probably make _us_ kids. And…” He turned back to Uma. “Before I get distracted again, um- how do you feel about Gil and Harry coming over with the next batch of kids? Or perhaps we could do your whole crew? Technically you’d be ‘coming over’ with them-”

“As an extension of friendship,” Uma hummed, seeming like she was parroting the words from someone else. “I get it. And yeah, let’s bring my whole crew over. Along with Dizzy and um… Squeaky and Squirmy – those are Mr. Smee’s boys. Real shy, and definitely don’t deserve to be on the Isle.”

“None of them do,” Ben said, grinning. “And we’re going to fix that.”

He looked at Chad when he said it, like he thought Chad was actually capable of important things. It made Chad feel a little less uneasy, a little more grounded in the fact that _this was happening_. Ben loved him, Ben _loved him_ , and Chad was going to be his Gentleman of the Court and they were going to get married one day and have magic babies that Chad really hoped had Ben’s eyes.

“Yeah…” Chad said, kind of dazed. “We’re gonna fix that.”

“First thing’s first,” Uma drawled, standing up with a sigh. “You’ve gotta go to your fancy pants party.”

“Oh wow,” Chad said, reluctant to stand up but finding the process easier with Ben’s hand in his. “I hope Mal takes this okay.”

“She already broke up with me,” Ben said with a shrug, squeezing Chad’s fingers. “Perhaps it wasn’t great of me to hide my feelings for you from her, but she has no right to comment on our relationship, even if this seems…”

“Sudden?” Chad offered.

“ _Perhaps_ ,” Uma scoffed. “Or perhaps you just needed help seeing what you really wanted. Don’t let them make you feel bad for that.”

“Never,” Ben pledged, tugging Chad until they were next to each other. “You gonna be okay in here for a few hours?”

“I’ll be fine,” Uma dismissed, walking over to the couch and flopping down on it. “Just don’t forget about me during your honeymoon phase.”

“We’re not even _married_ yet,” Chad sputtered, earning a laugh from Ben and an eye roll from Uma, who seemed to be thoroughly done with them.

“The key word is ‘ _yet_ ’,” Ben murmured hotly into Chad’s ear, and it seemed far too good to be true to find this at seventeen, but-

But Chad had always known, deep down, that he was Ben’s. He just hadn’t had the words to articulate it.

And now, he didn’t have to.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“You don’t need to freak out,” Ben assured him as they waited at the top of the stairs. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Easy for you to say,” Chad murmured, tempted to hunch in on himself and sprint back into the depths of the ship. “Everyone likes you. Barely anyone likes me-”

“ _I_ like you,” Ben reminded him, and then he dipped down to kiss Chad again, even though Lumiere was _right there_ and the ship workers could see them.

Still, Chad felt a lot better when the king pulled away, and Ben was smiling too, like it wasn’t a mistake. 

He cleared his throat. “If… if things start to go bad… I mean, you don’t _have_ to date me if the backlash is-”

Between one moment and the next, Chad found himself pressed against the wall, Ben doing his best to mold their bodies together as he stared at Chad with an unwavering intensity.

“You are _mine_ ,” he pledged, the words making Chad shiver. “And if there’s any negative backlash, _they_ are in the wrong, not you. You aren’t negotiable, you’re… you’re what I need,” he settled on, his hand cupping Chad’s cheek again. It was becoming a familiar action, and Chad was growing to love it quite a lot. “You’re mine,” he repeated. “And I don’t- I don’t want to separate from you again. I don’t want to pretend to just be friends when I want more. I don’t want to watch you date people who don’t appreciate you and act supportive when I just want to wrap you in my arms and kiss you senseless. I can’t do it, Chad, and I _won’t_.”

“You…” Chad trailed off, his throat feeling tight. “…all this time?”

“ _Always_ ,” Ben murmured, his teeth grazing the shell of Chad’s ear. “And I had to watch you struggle while you put up a strong front, but I _know_ you’re not taken care of the way you should be and I’m not allowing it anymore. You’re mine. You’re _mine_ and even if you weren’t, I am going to love and take care of you until the day I die.” 

“B-Ben…” Chad had to fight to swallow down tears, his hands trembling against the neat cut of Ben’s coat. “I… I missed you. I’m sorry, I-”

“You don’t have to apologize to me,” Ben hummed, nuzzling their heads together. “Just _trust_ me. Trust that no matter what happens, we’re going to stand strong.”

“I trust you,” Chad whispered, the words coming in a rush. “I’ll always trust you, Ben.”

The smile this earned him was overwhelming in its radiance, making Chad wonder how truly unworthy he was to receive such a thing.

“That’s all I need,” Ben said, and then he stepped away, taking Chad’s hand in his and nodding to Lumiere. 

It was time.

-:-:-:-:-:-

When Ben and Chad were younger, they had hung out a lot.

At first it was because Chad’s mom was dead and this was _a sad thing_ even though he didn’t remember her. He did know that things changed after that, because his family cuddle time became nonexistent, and then family time became nonexistent, until Chad’s new status quo became a game of hot potato between a series of nannies, tutors, and servants of Sardinia castle where Chad was the potato. But like, a non-delicious, unwanted potato.

It made him wonder what he’d done wrong, because he was pretty sure _something_ had to be wrong for him to go from having a family to _not_ having a family, but no one would ever explain it to him, and eventually he gave up asking.

And then came the Florians.

Queen Belle Florian had been friends with Chad’s mother, and King Adam Florian was friends with Chad’s father, so by extension _Chadwick James_ was to be friends with _Benjamin_ _Florian_ , even though his name had far too many syllables for a person to ever need. 

They started small. 

Well like, comparatively small. 

They invited Chad over for the summer when he was eight, mostly out of pity Chad thought, because Chad was homeschooled and didn’t get to hang out with other kids his age after that one time he’d almost drowned in a river on the dare of a schoolkid from the city. Chad had gotten restricted to the castle after that, which sucked, because the castle was filled with a bunch of old people and locked doors. It was _the worst_. 

But then Chad got to stay the summer with _Ben_ , and Chad did not know Ben, but he was also a prince so that was cool. He also lived in a castle but he was allowed to leave it (with a chaperone), and his parents talked to him and all the servants liked him and didn’t lock him into rooms when he was being annoying so this Ben-guy pretty much seemed to have it made. 

Chad liked him. And Ben liked Chad.

And thus, a wonderful friendship was born.

Ben liked to _read_ , and Chad wasn’t good at reading but he _was_ good at being patient for his new friend because he wanted to keep his new friend, so they spent a lot of time in the library where Ben would read and Chad would _try_ to read and end up scribbling sketches on loose stationary he found. Eventually Queen Belle got him a _sketchbook_ and Chad used that instead, and sometimes he’d draw pictures of the stuff Ben was reading and sometimes he’d draw pictures of them having adventures and for whatever reason the Queen would request to look at _all of them_ and tell Chad how well he was doing, even if he wasn’t. 

Chad didn’t like to read, but he did like it when Queen Belle read to them at night (Ben and Chad got to share a _room_ and it was so cool, Chad had never done that before). She would use different voices for different characters and pet their hair and give them both a kiss on the head before she left them for the night, and it was so different Chad wondered if that was what being loved was like. 

Aside from that, they had adventures. When Chad couldn’t keep still any longer, Ben would take pity on him and lead him outside, and they’d explore the gardens and the forests and sometimes go on picnics. Or they’d take a horse from the stable (Chad didn’t know how to ride yet, so he’d sit behind Ben and wrap his arms around his waist and it was almost like a reverse hug and he loved it) and go down to the beach, or on the trails. 

Chad would follow Ben to his ‘princely obligations’, and Chad would learn about the other kingdoms in Auradon, and sometimes he met other old royals who were just as nice and smiling as Ben. Chad wondered if they thought he was nice too. 

They did it again the next summer, and the next. 

Chad stayed over at Auradon Castle until the year he turned thirteen, and things seemed to change.

He just wasn’t sure what went wrong. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Introducing his royal majesty, King Benjamin Florian!” Lumiere announced to a polite scattering of applause. “And his _Gentleman_ of the Court, his royal highness, Prince Chadwick James of Sardinia!”

At best, Chad had expected an awkward silence to follow the declaration, the oddity of it softened by a few well-mannered golf claps offered out of obligation more than anything else. He knew this had sort of come from nowhere, that last everyone heard, Chad was dating Audrey, and yet-

And yet, they were cheering. Noisy, enthusiastic things that mostly seemed to emanate from the Tourney team that spread to the rest of the school. At first Chad thought they were just being supportive of Ben, because when you were a royal you did not snub the king (even if he made weird, last-minute choices), but there were plenty of people offering Chad a thumbs up or cheerful wave and Chad did not know what was happening. 

It was almost enough to make Chad want to run again, but Ben’s grip was firm as he tugged Chad down the staircase, his grin perfectly regal. 

“Ben,” Lady Belle greeted, her lips pulled up in a smile, though the corners of her eyes seemingly pinched with concern. “This is a surprise.”

“Not really,” Ben said, so very sure of himself. “After Mal broke up with me I realized…” He looked to Chad, smiling. “I realized I was tired of losing what I loved, and if I wanted it, I should fight for it.” He turned back to his parents. “I tried to fight for Mal, but it didn’t work out, and I think that was for the best. I’ve got Chad now, and he loves me…”

“If um- that’s okay, your ladyship,” Chad said, feeling his cheeks heat with embarrassment.

That, out of everything, seemed to make the lady’s smile a bit more relaxed. “Of course it’s okay, Chadwick.”

Lord Adam cleared his throat. “I suppose in light of everything, this isn’t nearly as shocking as we think it is.”

“Nope,” Ben grinned, squeezing Chad’s hand again. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to take my _gentleman_ on a spin around the dancefloor.”

“ _Ben_ ,” Chad groaned, but the king was relentless, merely tugging Chad into an easy waltz as they twirled around the floor. 

It was difficult, because so many people were looking at them, but every time Chad felt uneasy Ben would lean forward, either to nuzzle him or bump their noses together or be a dumb goof in a different way, and by the time the dance was finally over Chad was laughing, because this was… this was really happening. It wasn’t a fluke. 

Eventually, they had to end the first dance with a bow, and with that they moved off to mingle. 

They got about two feet before they were confronted by a cheerful Aziz, the prince of Agrabah seeming ready to burst from his enthusiasm. “I can’t believe it!” he cheered, earning a round of laughter from the few Tourney team members that had followed him over. “I mean, it’s the ending we all hoped for but had given up on getting!”

“Good for you guys,” Malvin – the son of Queen Merida – drawled. “Took ye damn long enough, though.”

“Good things take time,” Hero offered sagely, the prince of Apheliotia looking especially dapper in his new suit.

“Wait.” Chad blinked, melting into Ben’s side. “You guys saw this coming?”

“ _Everyone_ saw it coming,” Aziz gushed. “Do you not remember Ben bodily tackling Malvin to the ground for like- _almost_ insulting you?”

“And then when ye finally got a girlfriend,” Malvin picked up. “The man was insufferable, insisting that he was _‘so very happy for you_ ’ but also ‘ _what if she wasn’t treating ye right_ ’?”

“ _Ugh_ ,” Aziz groaned, slumping against James, the prince of Deep Jungle. “That was an awful few years.”

“Wanted to wring his damn neck.”

“Well, now you don’t have to,” Ben said with a laugh, a pretty flush spilling across his cheeks as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Since I have um- stopped fighting my feelings.”

“You dummy,” Chad giggled, burying his face against Ben’s shoulder. 

He knew the other prince had said ‘ _always_ ’, had likely even meant it, but it was different knowing that everyone else seemed to think that too. What a day. 

“ _Your_ dummy,” Ben corrected, and then he pulled Chad into another kiss that had the rest of the team hooting and letting out catcalls that made Chad both elated and helplessly embarrassed. 

By the time they pulled apart, their teammates had stepped aside to make room for Mal. 

For a second, Chad was overwhelmed with anxiety compounded by terror, but then he realized Mal was smiling, smiling at _both of them_ , and it wasn’t even one of her fake smiles from when she was trying to convince everyone she was fine but really having a mental breakdown. 

“Boys,” she greeted, offering Ben a wink. “Can’t say I’m mad. I think this is the ending we’ve all been waiting for.”

“Mal…” Ben began – apologetic, perhaps, but his arm was still firm around Chad’s waist.

The purple-haired teen waved him off. “You’re good, Ben. I broke up with you, remember? We were both trying for something that wasn’t working. Speaking of.” She turned to face Chad. “Where’s Audrey?”

“Sherwood Forest,” Chad said, his shoulders slumping in sympathy. “She got a flat tire. I was originally going to drive out to her, but-”

“Good thing you didn’t,” Ben hummed, and then he was kissing Chad again. 

That was definitely going to take some getting used to. 

“I um-” _Wow_ , Chad was going to have to work on maintaining his composure because Ben just made him feel flushed _all_ the time. “I came to um- make an appearance and then _Ben_ …”

Chad didn’t even know what happened, it all seemed like a blur, now.

“So,” Mal interrupted his meandering story, making a show of studying her nails. “You broke up with Audrey, then?”

Um.

“ _Shit_ ,” Chad hissed, pressing a hand to his head. “No. It all happened so fast-”

“ _Chad_ ,” Mal groaned. “You have the worst track record with this stuff, you airhead.” She turned her attention to Ben. “You better keep a close eye on him, or he’ll forget to dump you too.”

“He’s not _going_ to dump me,” Ben growled, and then he may or may not have made a dedicated effort to open up the collar of Chad’s shirt so he could start marking up his neck.

“ _Ben_ ,” Chad groaned, except he definitely leaned into the contact because it was _Ben_ , and Chad had wanted Ben forever. 

“Bitches,” Mal drawled. “I will throw water on you.”

“I’ll finish this later,” Ben murmured against Chad’s skin, pressing one last kiss to the curve of the blond’s neck before standing back up. “And you can call Audrey after Cotillion.”

“She’s going to be so mad,” Chad whimpered. “She didn’t even want me to come without her.”

“And then you dumped her for your epic gay romance,” Mal deadpanned. “So yeah, she’s gonna be mad.”

“You gonna do something to soften the blow?” Ben asked for some reason, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive manner, as though he was referring to a secret.

Mal’s look of amused disinterest fell into a scowl. “Why the fuck should I?” she snapped, and then she was storming away, the other transfer students following after her.

“Um…” Chad said, watching her go.

“It’s okay,” Ben soothed, pulling Chad closer. “They’ve got her. And _we’ve_ got to mingle.”

“Should I, um…?” Chad motioned to his open collar, then shivered when Ben’s gaze shifted into one of open hunger.

“Probably for the best,” Ben whispered. “Or else I might ravish you right here.”

Chad did up the buttons, but like, with the _most_ reluctance ever. 

The rest of the night sort of went by in a blur. Everyone offered their congratulations; everyone wanted to shake their hands or get a picture. Dozens of princesses gushed to Chad about how cute he and Ben were, about how they’d _always known_ they’d get together (Chad wished he had half their confidence). He got more numbers then in case he needed ‘an ear to listen’ than he ever had in his attempts at dating, and Ben seemed just as flushed and happy, his chest puffed up with pride with every commiserating slap on the back and hand shake. 

Fairy Godmother had even pulled both of them into a hug, though she was sure to also give Chad a hug of his own, saying how she was _so very happy for him_ , and how his mother would be _so proud_ , and they both may have teared up at that because Chad didn’t remember his mother but he had always heard the best things about her. 

They danced the night away. Ben didn’t want to be with anyone but Chad, even though proper decorum demanded he dance with some of their classmates, at least on the group dances. His possessiveness and the way his gaze followed Chad when they were apart filled the blond with comfort and a muted sort of joy, because this wasn’t a phase. This was Ben, _his_ Ben, only now Chad could be open about it.

It was, in short, amazing. 

“ _Finally_ ,” Uma drawled when they stumbled into Ben’s cabin later, trading messy kisses and collapsing onto the bed. “Hey, _no_ – knock that off.”

“I have food waiting for you in the other room,” Ben gasped between kisses, pulling Chad’s collar open again. “You can eat and finalize your plans while I make good on some of my ideas from earlier.”

“ _Ben_ ,” Chad moaned, tugging at the king’s hair.

“Just you,” Ben murmured against his skin. “In that cape. On this bed.”

“ _Weirdos_ ,” Uma huffed, but she left them to it, allowing Ben to completely surrender to the hunger that had been following him the whole night.

Suffice it to say, it was a very eventful Cotillion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this little gem was inspired by me toying around with starting points for a story. ‘Cuz like, I’ve got about ten stories that start in Descendants 1 and a few after Descendants 3, but nothing really for Descendants 2. This was my take on things if Chad had actually gone to Cotillion. I am not sorry for the madness that follows. 
> 
> This story will consist of 9 chapters of story content and one chapter of deleted scenes. The deleted scenes will be posted along with chapter nine. As always, please let me know if I missed something in the tags. I prefer to ere on the side of caution with these things, but when you stare at something for long enough, it can be easy to lose the details :)
> 
> I update once a week, generally on Sundays, but because things have been so crazy lately, I decided to make an effort to update twice a week. So there will be one update on Sunday and one update on Wednesday/Thursday for now :D 
> 
> Just a heads up – I update the story tags as I go in order to avoid spoilers. So characters, pairings, content warnings – all will be updated in correlation to the appropriate chapter as they are posted. 
> 
> Story notes:
> 
> To clarify, Uma spelled Chad and Ben to be in love with each other, though as the rest of the story will reveal (totally expected spoiler), they were already in love with each other - so there's some dubious consent due to the love potion, but it will be better addressed later in the story. 
> 
> Sardinia is my name for Chad’s kingdom, which canonically is known as ‘Cinderellasburg’. I changed the name into something that sounded a bit more like an actual kingdom to me, and I have no regrets.
> 
> Chad’s last name, James, is from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical ‘Cinderella’, the opening number (of the non-revival version) has a song that features the prince’s many names, the last one being James. 
> 
> I found ‘Apheliotia’ on a fan map of Auradon. I essentially equate it to Greece, making Hero the son of Hercules and Meg. Malvin, Hero, and James are all OCs invented for the purposes of this story. You’re free to use them if you like, I know how annoying it can be to invent new characters for stories, just give me a shoutout in the end notes ;)


	2. Summer

The first time Chad met Ben he’d been excited and terrified, because he’d never been outside of Sardinia before, and he hadn’t been _outdoors_ recently, and now he had an abundance of both as he stood beside Captain Anozie, looking up at a big, majestic castle. 

Ben had been standing next to his mother, holding her hand, and Chad had tried not to stare at that. He had never held his mother’s hand, and lately, the nannies didn’t like holding his hands either. He was a _big boy_ , now. _Big boys_ needed to stand on their own two feet.

Only Ben was a prince and he was holding his mother’s hand, and he didn’t seem small at all. 

“Hi!” Ben had greeted, deftly detaching from his mother so he could move towards Chad in a few bouncy steps. “I’m Ben!”

“Um…” Chad wasn’t used to introducing himself to people, they normally just knew who he was, so this was sort of new to him. “I’m Chad.”

“Neat.” Ben held his hand out and Chad stared at it, shook it cautiously because he knew that was a thing grownups did and then, very carefully, did not let go. 

If Ben was still holding hands with his mother, he probably wouldn’t mind if Chad did it, too. 

Ben stared at their hands, and then he looked up at Chad, smiling so bright that the sun itself would be jealous.

“ _We_ ,” Ben said, tugging Chad over to his mother. “Are going to be best friends.”

“I’d like that,” Chad said, smiling his first real grin in a long while. “I’d like that a lot.”

“Great,” Ben chirped. “Because it’s happening. I have declared it so.”

“ _Ben_ ,” Queen Belle chided, but the other prince was undeterred, tugging Chad towards the castle. 

“Don’t mind her,” Ben advised. “Not everyone gets it. But you get it, right Chad?”

He looked over his shoulder, because even though Chad was following after him, he didn’t want Chad to get left behind. He wanted Chad to be _included_. 

“Yeah, Ben,” Chad said, giving his fingers a tentative squeeze and preening when Ben did it right back. “I get it.”

“Good,” Ben said. “I would be sad if you didn’t.”

And perhaps Chad hadn’t gotten it in that exact moment, but he _did_ get it eventually.

And that, Chad felt, was what really mattered.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“I have an idea!” Ben declared a week into Chad’s first stay. 

“Yeah?” Chad perked up from where he was arranging his pillows _just so_ , because sometimes they were fine and sometimes he needed to organize them by size and plumpness or he wouldn’t be able to sleep because he was such a _messy little boy_ , and no one liked those.

“You should sleep over here tonight!”

It took a few moments for the words to register, and when they did, Chad almost dropped his pillow. “What?”

Ben was still smiling when Chad looked over at where the prince was posed by his bed. Chad’s bed was an extra one they had brought in at Ben’s insistence, because it wasn’t a _real_ slumber party if Chad was in another room. “You should sleep over here,” he repeated. “With me.”

“But…” Chad flushed. “Aren’t we… I thought you didn’t do that with people you weren’t going to marry.”

“ _Chad_ ,” Ben groaned, meaning that the blond had been wrong. “Stop listening to your nannies. Friends totally share beds all the time.”

“They do?” This was not a thing Chad had known. 

“Totally,” Ben confirmed. Ben wouldn’t lie to Chad; he knew he was the smarter one between them. “So you should sleep over here so that when you have nightmares, I can help.”

“ _Ben_.” They had agreed not to talk about Chad’s nightmares, because Chad didn’t want to be a big baby who got sent home.

“No, come on,” Ben huffed. “It’s perfectly natural to have nightmares, and you usually get them when you’re all…” He motioned to where Chad was arranging his pillows. 

Chad dropped the cushion he was holding like he’d been burned, embarrassed at having been called out.

“No, Chad- it’s fine.” Ben bounded over to his side of the room, wrapping Chad in an easy hug that took him by surprise before he melted into it. “That wasn’t an accusation. Nightmares don’t make you weak, I just… if I can help, I’d like to, because you’re my friend.”

Chad thought about this for a moment, but Ben was making several good points. 

“And um…” Chad shifted his weight uneasily. “This wouldn’t mean we were married, right?”

Ben let out a sigh that was part laugh. “Nope. It just means we’re cuddle buddies.”

“I uh- oh.” Chad flushed. “I’ve never…”

“It’s okay,” Ben chirped, setting Chad’s pillow down in the position he’d intended for it before dragging the blond over to his bed. “I haven’t either. Now, do you need to rearrange any of my pillows, or can we sleep?”

Chad considered this question, his fingers twitching because he didn’t want to disrupt Ben’s space but if he’d _offered_ …

“Can I um- move just a few of them?”

Ben grinned. “Do whatever you’d like.”

Wow, Ben really was the best sometimes. 

He didn’t mind waiting for Chad to rearrange the pillows to his liking, or when he had to go back to his bed and fix a few of _those_ pillows. He even waited for Chad to straighten out a few odds and ends on Ben’s desk, until the room was _perfect_ and definitely not worthy of criticism, before he allowed Ben to tug him into bed.

It was weird at first, but then Ben was pulling Chad against his side and it was entirely _better_ , because Ben was solid and warm and breathing and proof that Chad was not alone in the universe, waiting to get absorbed by the pitch black of his room. 

He really wished his grandfather would let him have a bedroom with windows. Or a nightlight. Either would be nice.

“Goodnight, Chad,” Ben chirped, running a hand down Chad’s back.

“‘Night, Ben,” Chad yawned, his eyelids feeling unquestionably heavy.

He didn’t have any nightmares that night, further proving that Ben was the _best_.

-:-:-:-:-:-

It was the best night of sleep Chad had ever experienced. So much so that it was difficult for Ben to wake him, but the other prince didn’t seem to mind, happy to cuddle with Chad until Mrs. Potts came in to see what the holdup was.

Chad would have been embarrassed, but she thought they were _cute_ , and Queen Belle thought it was sweet, which was all the approval Chad needed to climb into Ben’s bed at night instead of his own. 

Sometimes – not often – his life would give him good things. Ben was one of those good things.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“I made another decision,” Ben said when they were eleven.

“What is it?” Chad asked, a bright smile tugging at his lips. Ben’s decisions were always interesting, and Chad loved hearing about them, because they usually involved Chad.

Ben flopped down onto the grass beside Chad and grinned up at him, and even with a few teeth missing, he still looked very regal. “I have decided that you are my princess.”

Chad felt his cheeks bloom with warmth, and he tried to cover that with a frown. “I can’t be a princess,” he insisted. “I’m a boy. Boys are princes.”

“That’s true,” Ben allowed, which made Chad feel a lot better. He always felt good when he got something right. “So you’ll be a prince for the rest of the world, but for _me_ , you’ll be a princess.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” Chad said, and unlike the many times he uttered that phrase to his tutors, Ben didn’t get annoyed with him, because Ben never got annoyed with him.

“Sure it does,” Ben chirped. “You’re pretty, and nice, and animals like you. Therefore, you are the perfect candidate to be my princess.”

Chad could feel his blush darken. “I’m not _pretty_.”

“Yes, you are,” Ben said all insistent, sitting up to give Chad a wide-eyed look. “I thought that since the first moment I saw you. You came to the castle and I thought ‘ _wow, he’s so pretty, he’s going to be my princess_ ’.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that _then?_ ” Chad sputtered, still trying to get over the fact that Ben thought he was pretty. 

Like, Chad’s mom was pretty, and he looked a lot like her, so perhaps the idea had merit.

Ben shrugged. “It’s not the kind of thing you tell a person you’ve just met,” he said, and Chad had a feeling that was another decision on Ben’s part. “But I told you now! That’s what matters.”

“I guess so,” Chad allowed. 

_Wow_ , Ben had thought he was pretty this whole time. 

It made a sort of fluttery feeling grow in his stomach, only he was pretty sure he wasn’t hungry.

“So,” Ben continued, leaning forward so he could bump his nose against Chad’s. They’d seen some dogs do it once, and now they did it all the time, but only when they were alone, so it was _special_. “Will you be my princess?”

“I thought it was already decided,” Chad said, confused again. “Wasn’t that your _decision_?”

“Well, I thought I’d ask,” Ben insisted. “Because that is the polite thing to do. Like, you don’t have to be my princess if you don’t want to be, but if you _are_ , then we’ll have our own fairytale that people will talk about all the time.”

“Really?” Chad perked up. He liked the idea of that. He’d been afraid of working through his fairytale on his own, because all royals seemed to have one, but if he did it with Ben it didn’t seem half as scary. “I’d like that. So yes, I will be your princess.”

“Awesome!” Ben cheered, and then he tackled Chad in a hug that Chad savored, because Ben hugs were the best hugs, no question about it. “Aw, man,” Ben said when he pulled back, bumping their noses together again. “I can’t wait to see how our story goes.”

“As long as it has a happy ending,” Chad hummed.

“ _Obviously_ ,” Ben scoffed, reaching over to hold Chad’s hand. “It’s us. And because it’s us _we_ are going to have the best fairytale of all time.”

“I also want to get sparkly shoes at the end,” Chad declared. “You can also have sparkly shoes, but I wanna match my mom.”

“This seems fair,” Ben said, all mature and regal, and then he goaded Chad into running down the meadow with him to celebrate their future together.

It gave Chad hope, because even though things were not great back home, he at least had Ben and Auradon, and now he was a _princess_ , so like, perhaps things weren’t so bad after all. 

Ben had a tendency to do that. Chad hoped the other prince knew how much that meant to Chad.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Ben,” Queen Belle said over breakfast one morning, her smile soft and sweet. “Don’t you think you two are getting a little old to share a bed?”

“No,” Ben dismissed easily, brushing his foot against Chad’s calf for comfort. “You’re never too old to cuddle with your best bro.”

They left out the part where Chad was Ben’s princess, so _obviously_ they were going to share a bed. That, they had decided, would be their secret. 

And it worked out, because Queen Belle’s smile seemed to grow more supportive. “That’s a healthy attitude to have,” she said. “It’s important to remember that platonic, friendly relationships can be just as satisfying and important as familial and romantic ones.”

“I know, mom,” Ben groaned, but Chad merely puffed up in pride, because he had an _important relationship_ with Ben. “That’s why Chad and I are going to be best friends for life.” 

“I certainly hope so, dear,” Queen Belle said. 

Chad didn’t stop smiling for the rest of breakfast.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“I have an idea,” Ben said, bouncing up to where Chad was perched on top of a boulder, trying to shade in a picture of the setting sun with the pastels Queen Belle had gotten him.

“You got a better idea for how to catch fish?” Chad asked, because that had been Ben’s latest mission. The other prince had been adamant he could spear one from the shallows, but Chad (who’d tried to do that back in Sardinia) already knew that wouldn’t work out. It was one of the few times he had one up on Ben.

“What? No, I’m done with that,” Ben said, and Chad wished he could be half as composed about his own personal failures. Ben just sort of let them slide off him like water. “I was thinking, we’re gonna have to start dating soon.”

“We are?”

“Yep,” Ben said, his expression calm and knowing. “My dad says this is when we’re supposed to _test the waters_ by like, being a gentleman and holding hands and like, that means eventually we’re going to be dating.”

“Oh.” Chad considered this. “But we already hold hands.”

“Exactly.” Ben nodded. “So we’ve already got that down. That just means we have to prepare for the next part.”

“What’s that?” Chad asked, setting his sketchbook aside. This conversation seemed way more important anyway. 

“Kissing!” Ben chirped, his cheeks dusting in a pale blush.

“Kissing?” Chad could feel his own face heat with embarrassment. He’d never even thought about kissing. 

Or, he did, but in a distant way.

“Yeah!” Ben grinned. “When we start dating, people are going to expect us to kiss, because that’s what dating people do, so I thought we could start practicing that now, so when we actually have to do it in public, we won’t feel self-conscious.”

That made a lot of sense. “So um… I’d be dating you?” Chad asked, just to make sure he understood it right.

Ben’s gaze flew wide in surprise. “Of _course_. You’re my princess, remember? So when we get older, you and I are going to date.”

Sometimes Chad wished he was a real princess. He was pretty sure those were liked more than princes. And then he could wear his mom’s pretty shoes. He’d ask to try them on once, and then his grandfather hadn’t spoken to him for like, four months, so obviously he had done something wrong.

“Oh _wow_ ,” Chad said, because that was actually a big relief for him. He’d been worried about how dating was going to go, but if he had Ben by his side- well, Chad really liked Ben. Dating as a concept seemed scary to him, though he knew as a prince he had to do it. If he did it with Ben though, then perhaps dating would be awesome, because being with Ben was awesome. “That’s great!”

“Yeah,” Ben sighed. “I thought that too. So, what do you think?”

“About kissing?” Chad asked, feeling his blush darken. “Um… yeah, okay. That’s a good idea. I’d rather get good at it now than worry about it later.”

“That was my thought,” Ben hummed, because he was a wise soul. “We’ll keep it a secret, though, because we’re starting early. My mom’s worried about me _rushing into things_ and _growing up too fast_ , so this way she can’t be upset. She’ll just think we’re best bros, and we _are_ , we’re just also practicing to be best bros who date. And then, you know, one day we’ll get married.”

“ _Wow_ ,” Chad repeated. A few years ago, he didn’t know what the future had in store for him, but now he had Ben – his friend and future husband – and that was super cool.

Ben gave him a cocky smile. “That is the correct response.”

“Don’t get a big head,” Chad warned him, parroting something Queen Belle said _all the time_ , and Ben’s response was to wrap himself around Chad like an octopus, pretending to be a nuisance but really just giving the best hug ever. 

Yeah, this was pretty cool. He liked this a lot. 

Ben had the best ideas sometimes. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Okay,” Ben said after dinner that night, when both of them had brushed their teeth and they were supposed to be _winding down_ from the day by like, playing boardgames or reading or whatever. “How do we do this?”

“Um…” Ben had seen more movies than Chad and he had interacted with more people, so the idea that the other prince thought Chad might be able to answer this question was sort of flattering. The most people he had seen kissing were Ben’s parents, and in the paintings back at Sardinia Castle. “Do we sit down?”

Ben perked up. “Yeah, that seems like a good start.”

He took Chad’s hand (they were becoming pros at that, and Chad sort of really liked it) and tugged the blond prince over towards the lounge area of his bedroom, pulling him down so that they were sitting side-by-side on the couch.

“Okay,” Ben said again, though this seemed to mostly be to himself, like the few times he gave himself a pep talk. “Let me just…”

He reached up and pressed his fingers against Chad’s jaw, which was _weird_ , and then just sort of kept sliding them upwards until he was more or less holding Chad’s face. Sort of like the paintings. 

“Should I um… do that to you?” Chad asked, feeling kind of dumb to just be sitting there.

Ben stared at him blankly before a light flush spread across the bridge of his nose, like perhaps he was embarrassed Chad hadn’t figured that out for himself. “Sure. I mean, if you want to.”

Because Ben was so patient with him, Chad actually took a few moments to consider whether or not he wanted to touch Ben like that. He found, after a few seconds, that he actually did, so he reached up with both hands, feeling at Ben’s smooth skin until the other prince’s face was cradled between his hands.

It was sort of silly, actually. Chad wanted to squish his cheeks together and make him look like a fish. Perhaps Ben would let him do that later. 

For whatever reason, Ben’s blush darkened. “Okay, so. I’m just… I’ll lean forward, I guess, and then I’ll press our lips together and that should be kissing.”

“Yeah.” Chad nodded, because sometimes Ben needed reassurance too, and this seemed like one of those times. “That seems right.”

“Cool.” Ben also nodded, then took a breath to steady himself before leaning in. 

He also, Chad realized, closed his eyes, so he wasn’t _quite_ heading towards Chad’s lips but whatever, Chad could help with that so he did his best to adapt, until he and Ben sort of had their lips mushed together.

It was, of course, kind of strange.

Chad had never kissed anyone. Or well, he was pretty sure he might have kissed his mom way back when, but he couldn’t really remember that so it didn’t count. Ben, on the other hand, kissed his mom and dad all the time – like, on the cheek and stuff, but it _happened_. So obviously he was supposed to be the leader in this, and he kept doing this thing where he stuck his lips out.

After a few seconds they pulled back, their hands still on each other’s faces.

“What’s that thing you’re doing?” Chad asked, a very important question, he thought, and he wasn’t even sure he was going to get an answer because Ben looked dazed.

“Um…” Ben blinked at him. “You mean…” He did the thing with his lips again, and he actually _did_ look like a fish.

Chad giggled at the sight. “Yeah. _That_.”

“That’s um- I puckered my lips,” Ben explained. “You do that when you kiss people on the cheek, so I thought-”

“I’ll do it too,” Chad assured him before Ben could ramble on because he wanted to try that kissing thing again. “Is it like this?”

He tried to mimic Ben’s ‘pucker’. 

The other prince spent a lot of time staring at Chad’s lips before he eventually came back to himself, nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, that seems good.”

“Neat.” Chad grinned. “Then let’s do that again.”

“Okay!”

The second kiss seemed marginally better than the first. The first one had just sort of felt… not special, really. It was sort of like if Chad had kissed his hand, just a press of skin against his, but the second one seemed a little better, and then Ben moved his mouth a bit and-

Chad pulled back with a blink. “That was… that’s cool.”

“It is?” Ben looked like he hadn’t expected that. “I mean, they do that in the movies, so I thought…”

“Oh yeah, then it’s definitely good,” Chad said, because they wouldn’t put it in _movies_ if it was bad. “So…”

Kiss number three was even better, and Chad was ready when Ben’s lips moved that time. Granted, he still felt clumsy when he tried to reciprocate, but Ben let out this sort of happy sound that made Chad feel more confident. Perhaps he should do the same, only he was too focused on the feel of Ben against him and moving his lips, and _wow_ , he was actually kissing someone and it wasn’t going badly. Kissing a _prince_ , even. That was the stuff fairytales were made of. 

“…huh,” Ben said when they finally pulled apart, his cheeks flushed and breath coming in shorts pants. “Yeah, we should definitely practice that all the time.”

“Okay.” Chad grinned, because that meant he was _good_ , that Ben thought he was good and Chad thought Ben was good so really this was like, a natural and awesome evolution to their friendship.

Look at him, doing prince-things. His dad would be so proud.

Like, theoretically.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“We should practice dancing,” Ben said one day, when he and Chad were exploring the secret passageways of the castle and had ended up in the small east ballroom, the one that was mostly ignored nowadays.

“We should?” Chad asked, brushing dust from his hair.

“Yep.” Ben was nodding thoughtfully, which meant he had been stewing over this particular idea for a long time before he’d brought it up to Chad. “You and I both know the boy-parts to dancing, but if we’re going to marry each other, one of us has to learn how to be the girl.”

“Oh.” That made sense. “Okay, um… I guess I’ll be the girl,” Chad offered. “Since I’m shorter, and I look like my mom anyway.”

And he was the princess – they had already decided. But like, Ben had said he was _Chad’s_ princess, so they each sort of got to be both. 

That made Ben’s face light up in a brilliant smile. “I’m gonna spin you around the dancefloor,” he promised, motioning to the room around them. “Wearing my crown, and everyone else is going to be super jealous.”

“They are?” The idea made Chad feel all flushed. “You think so?”

“I _know_ so,” Ben boasted, offering Chad a formal bow. “Now, come on, we should start practicing so it becomes second nature.”

“Oh, boy,” Chad said, and then, just as usual, he followed Ben’s lead. 

Chad was usually nervous about dance practice because his tutors said he had to be _charming_ , he had to be poised and effortlessly perfect and even though he was good at like, physical stuff, that was still a lot of pressure. He often worried about what it would be like to do things with a girl, but now that he was Ben’s princess, it wasn’t exactly a problem. Now he could just dance with Ben, which was _fun_ , and they would laugh and stumble through their mistakes instead of being shamed by a disappointed _tut_ like Chad got from his teachers. 

When they mastered a difficult step, Ben would kiss him. And when Ben thought Chad needed reassurance, Ben would kiss him. 

It was actually super nice. 

Ben’s mom even had a recording of the wedding dance Chad’s parents did (it was hard for Chad to find any real records of his mother, who looked so pretty in the paintings mounting the walls of the castle), so they learned that too, even though Chad didn’t have a huge ballgown they had to work around. They learned the dance Ben’s parents had done as well, both of them giggling until it was perfect, and then they tried to find a way to fuse the two of them.

“Don’t worry,” Ben said as he stooped to pick Chad off the ground. “We’ve got plenty of time to make it perfect. We’ll get there soon.”

“Okay,” Chad said, marveling about how they could have something so very certain from such a young age, but feeling endlessly comforted by the fact it was there. At least now, he had an idea of what his future would look like. He had _Ben_ , and that was all that mattered.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Hey,” Chad said when they were on day two of their quest to keep away from Ben’s chaperones. “Why did you choose me to be your princess anyway?”

It was a question that had been bothering Chad for a while, but now that they were kissing and planning dates and attending the same school come next year, Chad really needed to know.

Ben hummed from his position sprawled out on the grass in front of their rough lean-to, which they would abandon come early morning in their quest to explore further down the coast.

“It was for entirely selfish reasons, I assure you,” Ben said, looking somewhat regretful. “‘Cuz like, I’ve met all the other young royals for the most part, right? Over festivals and birthday parties and all that, so I know that you’re the one for me, so…” He sighed. “So I asked you to be my princess before you met any of them and realized perhaps you wouldn’t want to marry me after all. Which was sort of a crummy thing to do.”

“I don’t think that could be possible,” Chad said, overwhelmed by the thought that Ben liked _him_ most of all. “You’re smart, and kind, and nice, and you seem to like having me around.”

“But that’s just ‘cuz I’m the only guy your dad will let you visit,” Ben pressed, sitting up with a conflicted look. “Like, if you met Aziz or Ruby you might like _them_ more.”

“Ben.” Chad poked the other prince’s shoulder. “If you don’t like them more, then how would I like them more? You’ve got excellent judgement.”

Mrs. Potts said so.

Ben made a face. “You can never know with these things.”

“…wow,” Chad said, twisting his hands together. “I didn’t know you’d… you’d put that much thought into it.” But it was Ben, so _of course_ he had. “Hey um… so… what do you like about me?”

Chad normally wouldn’t pry, only it didn’t seem like many people liked him back in Sardinia other than Captain Anozie.

Ben gave him a surprised look, then smiled. “Well, you’re kind and talented and very patient, even when I like, get sucked into a book and you’d rather be outside.”

“I like that about you, though,” Chad said. “How you can love something so much.”

Ben flushed, ducking his head. “And um… you’re very supportive. And sure, there’s other kids our age who are like that, but they aren’t _you_ , and I want you by my side.”

“Even though I’m dumb?” Chad asked nervously, trying to stay composed like Ben but likely failing. 

“You’re not _dumb_ ,” Ben insisted, wrapping Chad in a hug. They were both kind of dirty and sweaty from the constant running through the woods, their skin dusted with sand, but Chad melted into the hold anyway. “You’re good at different things, but that doesn’t make you dumb. You’re like, brilliant at art.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Chad murmured, embarrassed.

“Well, I would, and I’m your princess,” Ben boasted. “You’re a creator, Chad. You make things from nothing and make the world a prettier place because of it. _That’s_ the kind of person I want to spend the rest of my life with. And…” He ducked his head. “If you- when you meet the others, if you like one of them more-”

“I won’t,” Chad assured him, and then they spent the rest of the evening cuddled together on the lumpy ground, but it was okay, because Chad had Ben, and Ben had Chad.

Which was all they needed.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad wasn’t sure why they were angry. 

He and Ben had been walking to the library, Chad quietly explaining his next series of drawings based on the books Ben was reading, when the other prince had leaned over and pecked him on the lips. 

Just like every other time Ben did this, Chad leaned into it, because he liked Ben kisses, he liked how close it made them, how comfortable it felt. He didn’t realize they’d made a mistake until Cogsworth was clearing his throat, the butler revealing himself from where he had been previously hidden behind a column, and that was how the two of them came to stand in King Adam’s office with both of Ben’s parents. 

“This is unacceptable, Benjamin,” the king was saying, his face lined with unhappiness. “And _you_ , Chadwick-”

“Sweetheart,” the queen interrupted, her expression carefully unreadable. “Let me take care of this.”

The king _harrumphed_ but didn’t argue, his lips set in a firm scowl.

“Benjamin,” the queen began carefully. “You know better than to take advantage of your friends.”

Ben tensed like he was going to object, but it was Chad that spoke first. “He didn’t take ad- alant- alantauge-”

“Advantage,” the queen offered kindly.

Chad could feel his cheeks flush with embarrassment. “ _Advantage_ ,” he echoed carefully. “He didn’t do that.”

Chad didn’t even know what the word meant but he knew it wasn’t true because it seemed bad, and Ben wouldn’t do a bad thing to Chad.

The queen looked sort of sad. “…was it Ben’s idea to start kissing?”

Chad could feel his blush worsen, because when she put it so bluntly, it seemed crass. “Y-Yes, but-”

“I think…” the king began quietly, staring at his desk. “Perhaps it would be best if you two spent some time apart.”

Ben let out a sad sound. “But dad-”

“No, Benjamin,” the king said, his expression hard. “You know how princes behave and this is not it.”

“This will be good for you in the long run,” Queen Belle assured them, smiling even though it felt hollow. “You’ll see. You’ll make plenty of other friends and-”

“This unnatural codependence will cease to be,” the king finished with a grumble, pinching his nose. He pressed the button for his intercom. “Cogsworth, could you call our contact in the Sardinian castle? It would seem that Mr. James is leaving us early this summer.”

Chad felt his chest go all tight. If he went home, he’d just get locked in his wing of the castle for the rest of summer, and that was the last thing he wanted. “P-Please. I’m sorry, we won’t do that anymore, we promise-”

“I’ll be okay, Chadwick,” Queen Belle urged, stroking his cheek carefully because Chad was a _baby_ who couldn’t stop tearing up at the prospect of losing his only friend. “This is for the best.”

“No, it isn’t,” Ben protested. “This is dumb, and you know it. Chad shouldn’t have to suffer-”

“He’s hardly _suffering_ ,” the king said.

“You know nobody talks to him in that castle!” Ben snapped, making Chad flinch in the queen’s hold. “You _know_ that but you’re going to send him there anyway-”

“I know no such thing,” the king said, scowling. “Now go to your room. It seems you have forgotten how a prince behaves.”

“Yeah.” Ben scowled. “And you forgot how a _king_ does.”

“ _Ben-_ ”

“Whatever!” Ben threw his hands up, turning on his heel and charging from the room before his dad could rise to his feet.

All the while Chad couldn’t stop crying, because it really was over, wasn’t it? They weren’t going to ask him back after this. No one was. Chad was _too dumb_ to want around.

“Oh, sweetheart,” the queen sighed, dragging Chad into a hug. “It will be okay, I promise.”

“It better be,” the king grumbled, pinching his nose again.

“Perhaps we’ve been holding you back,” the queen continued as though she hadn’t heard him. “Inviting you over all these years- this really will be for the best. You’ll make new friends and have new stories to tell-”

“Cogsworth will pack your bags for you,” the king interrupted, his voice hard. “We’ll have the chauffeur drive you home when he’s finished.”

Chad’s only response was to cry harder.

So that was how it felt to lose a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you think Chad can’t catch a break now, the next chapter’s going to be a bit of a rough one, but it will get better from there :)
> 
> Thank you guys for the feedback!! They were a great laugh, and I’m glad you’re all onboard for the mild train wreck that is oblivious Chad and Ben! That’s one thing I’m always happy to deliver ;D
> 
> Story notes: 
> 
> And now we jump backwards! Don’t worry, we will be getting back to Uma and the reforms eventually, but first you need the background on why Ben and Chad are the way they are. Next chapter will feature their junior high years ^_^
> 
> The Sardinian captain of the guard doesn’t have a name so I used the actor’s name from the live action Cinderella, hence Captain Anozie. 
> 
> Until next time :)


	3. Auradon Junior Prep

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GENERAL WARNING: This chapter is sad. Like, I upset myself writing this part so there’s a good chance you will find it upsetting as well.
> 
> WARNING: Non-graphic suicide attempt in the final scene. Please see endnotes for more details.

The rest of Chad’s summer was sort of awful, which was hardly unfamiliar. He was used to being alone, but he’d also gotten used to summer being the highlight of his year. Of getting to see Ben and show Ben his drawings and have family dinners and get to run around outside. 

At home, he didn’t have much of anything. He had the gym, with its list of careful goals that he could usually achieve. He had his windowless bedroom, because his dad was worried about _attackers_ , and he had a whole library full of books he struggled to read. 

He didn’t have his art supplies, because his nannies thought they were _pointless distractions_ , so he’d hidden his sketchbooks and then hidden himself while he could, because they couldn’t lock him up if they couldn’t find him. 

That was how Chad had come to spend the rest of that summer in the attics, at least for a while. He’d drawn with the art supplies he’d hidden and the mice had shown him how to sneak to the kitchens to get food to eat, and sure it was dusty and cramped, but there were high windows he could look out of to see the birds during the day and the stars at night, and that was good enough for Chad. 

He got perhaps two weeks of that before Captain Anozie found him (Captain Anozie was _always_ the one to find him, wearing that tired, sad expression of his) and Chad was surrendered back to his keepers, but at least the captain had let him hide his art supplies before he left. 

Chad did not look forward to school. That year, Chad was to attend Auradon Junior Prep, the school for young royals that was supposed to get them ready for Auradon Prep, the giant high school nearby. Chad had never been to school before, much less a boarding school. He sort of looked forward to being away from home, of being able to go outside on a regular basis, but everything else seemed kind of scary. 

At least Captain Anozie had gone with him to get him settled. Chad’s father had arranged for him to have a room by himself for _security reasons_ , which Chad had tried to argue against but he didn’t have access to his dad’s secretary so he was alone again, even if this room did have windows. 

“It will be okay,” Captain Anozie had said, when everything had been unpacked and he had no reason to linger. “You’ll have a good time here, Chad.”

Chad did not know what he was basing this information off of, but Captain Anozie generally steered him in the right direction, so Chad didn’t fight him on it. 

School was _weird_.

Of course he’d known how school worked because Ben had told him about it. Ben had been going to school for years, so Chad understood the basic principles. You had a locker and different teachers for each class in different classrooms and you had lunch in the dining hall with everyone and you could sign up for different extracurriculars. Chad had tried to sign up for art but that had gotten vetoed for _Tourney_ , which was a game Chad just barely understood. Captain Anozie had said Ben would be doing Tourney though, so that made it a little better.

In fact, the only reason Chad wasn’t entirely freaking out was because he knew he was going to see Ben again. And sure, Chad probably wouldn’t ever get invited back to Auradon Castle, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t talk at school, right? 

_Right_?

He caught sight of Ben in the hallway after breakfast, Chad calming himself down from the trial that was finding and opening his locker. The other prince looked happy like he always did, reserved and kind, and he had a couple of other kids hanging around him, enthusiastic looking princes and a few pretty princesses who kept fluttering their eyelashes. There was this one dressed in pink that was hanging off Ben’s arm, and when she caught sight of Chad’s stare, she gave him a dirty look that had him walking in the other direction. 

Okay, so.

School was not great.

School was not great for many reasons, one of which being that even with Chad’s tutors, he was still kind of dumb. He struggled to read the assigned texts, and his only real solace was math, because at least numbers were nice to him. He didn’t know anyone besides Ben and Ben was busy with the hoard of friends he had sometimes mentioned, so Chad didn’t have anyone to sit with at lunch either. He just sort of ended up skipping it a lot of times and hanging out in the gardens instead, mostly for the novelty of it. 

Captain Anozie had said his mother liked gardens. It made Chad sad that he couldn’t get a close look at the flowers she had planted back home. 

One of the few highlights of school was the fact that while Chad hadn’t known what Tourney was, apparently he was quite good at it. 

Mostly he was good at taking direction and remembering to apply the stuff coach said, so like, while his _brain_ was kind of dumb, his body seemed to know what it was doing. It was sort of nice to be good at something, though sometimes it made the other guys glare at him. Chad did his best to ignore them, though, taking his clothes and changing in the bathroom stall instead of the locker room, because how did any of them think that was _not_ weird? Bodies were not for showing, he was pretty sure. At least, that was what one of his nannies had said.

There was one time where he’d managed to talk to Ben. The other teen had stumbled upon him, actually, hiding out in the garden, and while he’d been stuck still with a look of surprise, Chad had offered him a small wave.

“Hi, Ben.”

For a moment, Ben didn’t say anything, and then he got a look that seemed very sad and very tired. “I’m not supposed to talk to you,” Ben admitted.

It made Chad’s blood run cold. “…what?”

“My mom’s afraid I’m _stifling_ you,” Ben explained, staring down at his feet. “So I’m not supposed to talk to you.”

“But-” Chad felt disconnected from his body. “But you’re my friend.”

He was Chad’s _only_ friend. 

Chad only had the one, he wasn’t like Ben, who had dozens.

Ben winced. “Mom thinks I’ve been monopolizing your interest,” he said the words like they were a direct quote, which they probably were, because Chad didn’t understand them. “So I can’t be your friend anymore,” he said, the words seeming to tear at Chad’s throat. “But it’s okay, Chad. Just be yourself and you’ll make new friends.”

“ _Ben,_ ” Chad gasped, rising to his feet with a dangerous sway. The ground seemed uneven beneath him.

“It will be fine,” Ben continued in a rush. “Look, I can’t talk to you again outside of schoolwork and Tourney, so just- don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”

With that, he left. Ben _left_.

Ben, who had promised to always be there for Chad. 

To be honest, Chad wasn’t sure why he’d believed him. No one stayed. 

Chad fell back onto his stone bench with a slump, and when the bell to end lunch rang he didn’t move, too busy trying to swallow down tears as he stared at his lap.

So yeah, school sucked.

-:-:-:-:-:-

The problem with Ben not talking to him at school was that eventually the other kids realized Ben was purposefully ignoring Chad, and since Ben was the future leader of the United States of Auradon, they followed his lead and ignored Chad too. 

Chad couldn’t even say that he minded it. He was pretty sure he wasn’t good at having friends, if his experience with Ben was any indication. So he focused on what he _could_ do. He excelled in math and practiced extra on the Tourney field and in the Swords and Shields arena and struggled through literally everything else, because that was all he could do. 

He wasn’t, after all, that great a prince. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad got detention.

It turned out, not going to class because he didn’t want to be there was not a valid excuse for skipping, so after a few times he’d cut because it was _too much_ , Fairy Godmother ( _the_ Fairy Godmother) had pulled him aside and given him detention.

At least she hadn’t been angry. She just sort of seemed sad, but most of the adults in Chad’s life were like that, so perhaps that was just normal. 

That was how he ended up at the Auradon Junior Prep Auditorium early Saturday morning, staring at a tan, beautiful lady with hair that had seemed larger than life. Fairy Godmother had said her name was _Ms._ _Calliope_ , and she was in charge of the school’s drama department.

“I’m short-staffed on techies,” Ms. Calliope explained as she led Chad towards what seemed to be a collection of wood platforms and blank wall flats. “So you’re going to be painting my set for your detention.”

“Oh.” That seemed pretty cool, actually. “Okay.”

Ms. Calliope eyed him carefully, then passed over a picture of what Chad assumed the finished set was supposed to look like. It was pretty neat, with a forest sort of motif. The wall flats were going to have large, sweeping trees painted on them, and the platforms were going to be camouflaged to look like grass and stuff. It was cool. 

“Green base coat for the platforms,” she said, gesturing to his supplies. “Light blue for the wall flats. I will _know_ if there’s any funny business.”

Chad swallowed, gripping the jumpsuit she’d given him to wear over his clothes. “Yes, ma’am.”

Chad was pretty sure he had missed the point of detention, because he enjoyed painting the set. It was repetitive, therapeutic work, and it was easy to know if he’d done the job right. It was either covered, or it _wasn’t_ covered, and if it wasn’t covered, the process was easy to fix. It took Chad a few hours to get through the base coats, and by the time he tried to look for Ms. Calliope to see what was next, he couldn’t find her. 

It was unfortunate that this was Chad’s first detention and that no one else was there, because he didn’t know what the proper protocol was. Did he keep working? He guessed he’d keep working.

So he did.

He frowned at the picture she’d given him, reviewing the paints she left him with and the brushes available before he started painting the wall flats. At that point, he _definitely_ knew he’d failed detention, because he was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to like what he was doing. But recreating her pretty trees was a lot like drawing or shading with pastels, and Chad had really missed that. 

He got perhaps two of the wall flats done before Ms. Calliope returned, not that he noticed her until he turned to get more paint and realized she was _right there_.

“Oh.” Chad startled, pressing a paint-splattered hand against his chest to calm his heartrate. “Um… sorry. I finished the base coats so I… I thought I’d copy the picture.”

“Indeed you did,” Ms. Calliope said, staring at his work. “I had planned to hire someone out to do that.”

“I’m sorry,” Chad repeated. “I can paint over them-”

“No, sweetheart,” she said, her voice seeming kinder than before. “No, they’re perfect. Thank you very much for doing this for me, but your detention is up right now.”

Chad’s shoulders slumped. “But… but I’m not done,” Chad said, looking at the blank wall flats. “Could… could I come back to finish them? In secret,” Chad added. “I can’t- I’m not supposed to do art, so…”

The teacher considered him with a new interest. “You’re not?”

Chad hunched in on himself. “No, my tutors think it’s useless.”

Which just _figured_ , because Chad seemed to be sort of good at it. Of course he was good at unnecessary things. 

She stared at him for a hard moment, then nodded. “Okay, sweetheart. You can come back to finish this, but _only_ if you keep going to your classes.”

A small wave of misery washed over Chad, because he sort of hated a lot of his classes. “Okay. Thank you, Ms. Calliope.”

“Hey.” She walked towards him carefully, motioning for him to take a seat next to her on the now-dry platforms. “Are you being bullied, kiddo?”

“I um… I don’t know what that is,” Chad said. “But I don’t have anyone to talk to, so that’s hard.”

At least at home, he had his tutors to talk to. Here, the teacher had a lot of students and Chad couldn’t monopolize their time. He didn’t want to be _greedy_.

He just- didn’t want to be alone either.

“…you’re not settling in okay?”

Chad shrugged. “This is my first time at school. I’m not allowed to hang out with other kids back home, and Ben-” Chad pressed his lips together, trying not to get choked up. “He was my friend, but now he won’t be anymore, so no one else will be either.”

Chad did not blame them, because his own dad did not like him, but still, it really hurt.

“I’m supposed to be a king one day,” he said suddenly, hands twisting in the fabric of his jumpsuit. “But I don’t think I’m going to be a very good one. I mean, there has to be something wrong with me, right?” 

There _had_ to be, otherwise Chad wouldn’t get shut out so much. 

“Oh, kiddo, _no_ ,” Ms. Calliope said, giving his shoulder a soft squeeze. “There’s nothing wrong with you. And you’ll make other friends, you’ll see. Just give it time.”

Her optimism was appreciated, even though it felt sort of misplaced.

“Why don’t you and I have a talk with Fairy Godmother?” Ms. Calliope offered. “See if we can make things better.” 

-:-:-:-:-:-

Things don’t really get better. At least, not how Chad expected them to. He _did_ get introduced to the school counselor, who Fairy Godmother arranged for him to have sessions with once a week so he could practice talking to people or something. The highlight of that was that he was allowed to draw during their visits, which made them one of his favorite times of the week.

His other favorites included painting sets for Ms. Calliope, or when that was done, painting props for her. She just about always needed prop paintings, so Chad got to stand behind a real artist’s easel like Queen Rapunzel must have.

She had him make a sculpture, once. And while Chad was not as good with clay as he was with paint, it had still been a fun experience.

He still didn’t really have friends, but he had people to talk to, and that was nice. Fairy Godmother would sometimes drop in on his counselor sessions to see how he was doing. Her current campaign was to get him to eat lunch inside the dining hall, but Chad knew that was a losing battle. It hurt too much to look at Ben with all his new, better friends. Chad would take the gardens, thanks. 

So it wasn’t _great_ , but it was better, and Chad thought that counted for a lot.

And then Parents’ Day happened.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad had been nervous for Parents’ Day. 

It was an understandable nervousness, because it was the day all the parents came from across the united kingdoms to see how their children were faring. There were performances and a Tourney exhibition match, as well as a luncheon and an open house so the parents could speak to all the different teachers about their child’s progress. 

It was the last part that had Chad worried. He had C’s in most of his classes except for Tourney and Algebra, where he had A’s. He didn’t have an excuse for it either, but he never had before. This wasn’t Chad’s first time doing poorly in history and literature and the non-math part of science, he’d just never had to talk to his father about it. 

Things were going to change that day, and Chad wasn’t sure how much a good showing during the mock Tourney match was going to help him. He couldn’t even show his dad the sets he’d painted (even though he’d gotten to paint this really intricate rainbow tree for one of them, and Chad loved it a lot) because he wasn’t supposed to be doing art, so like, he had very few tools to combat his father’s potential disappointment.

Still, at least he’d get to see his dad. That hadn’t happened in person in… perhaps a year, Chad thought. It’d been a while. 

And Captain Anozie would be there too, because his dad never went anywhere without the captain, and even if Chad’s father was disappointed, Captain Anozie usually gave Chad a hug just for trying. 

Chad was _really_ looking forward to that hug. 

The morning of Parents’ Day, Chad was too nervous to think about eating. He’d probably just throw it up anyway, so he used the time he would have wasted in the dining hall making sure his appearance was _extra_ sharp, and then he did another tidy up of the room he’d cleaned the night before, because he was pretty sure the pillows could look more even and dust definitely could have built up on the windowsill and on second thought, perhaps Chad would just shut the curtains so his dad would think there was a wall behind them or something, like they were just there for decoration, because if he knew about the window he might take that away too. 

Classes had been canceled for the day, so Chad followed the rush of students to the covered walking path nearest to the parking lot. That was where all the royals would be dropped off or park, so that was where everyone’s parents would be coming from. 

Chad picked a secluded nook in the shadow of a nearby building and watched as his classmates’ parents arrived, all of them smiling and welcoming their children with open arms. People who he’d only seen in pictures and newscasts and knew from Ben’s stories were _right_ there, including Sultana Jasmine and Lord Consort Aladdin of Agrabah, and Queen Rapunzel and King Eugene of Corona. There were Generals Fa and Li, Queen Merida herself and her blond, wild-haired husband. It was fun watching all the families reunite, and Chad couldn’t wait to have a reunion of his own. He felt a little bad that he was looking forward more to Captain Anozie than his father, but he was still happy his dad was coming, and that had to count. 

It took perhaps thirty minutes for Chad to realize that his dad was running late. The walkway was mostly empty by then, save for a few stragglers whose parents arrived with bashful grins, but Chad didn’t see his dad or Captain Anozie. He checked his phone for messages, and when he saw none, he tried reaching out to his father’s secretary, and then to his grandfather’s secretary when that failed.

He even tried calling Captain Anozie’s line directly, but the call went instantly to voicemail, like it did when he was in super-secret meetings with Chad’s dad and all the electronics were blocked.

It made Chad worry, but he stayed still. Perhaps they’d come from a different direction, but he didn’t want to miss them in case they were running late. 

So he just… stayed. That was what you did when you were lost, right? You stayed in one place. 

The walkway slowly emptied out until it was completely abandoned, until it was just Chad waiting in his shadowy nook, but that was okay. Good things took time, and he could be patient, he _could_. Perhaps this was just a test. 

That was probably it – they saw how badly he was doing in school and wanted to see if he was good at other things, and Chad _was_ so he waited. Losing one hour never killed anybody. Neither did losing two. And missing lunch – that was child’s play, Chad did it all the time. 

Chad grew a little nervous when it got close to the exhibition match. He still hadn’t received any calls and he hadn’t been able to reach anyone, so he just waited, because his dad was more important than a game that didn’t mean anything anyway. 

Chad waited. And waited. He waited until his feet started to hurt, he waited while his stomach started to cramp, protesting the lack of food. He waited until the sun started to fall over the horizon and the parents he had watched come in earlier that day bid their children tearful goodbyes. There were hugs and kisses and ruffled hair, children waiting on the edge of the walkway and waving until their parents were completely out of sight.

Chad watched until the kids were gone too, until the pathway was empty again and the sun had set, leaving nothing but the cold of night. 

If this was a test, it was a mean one, Chad decided. He would still pass it of course, and he understood _why_ it was happening. Six C’s was nothing to sneeze at. It made two A’s seem ridiculous in comparison. Chad wondered if he’d gotten an hour for every bad grade, and then he’d realized it’d been more than six hours, and the cold was starting to bite so hard his blazer couldn’t protect him. 

So Chad shivered, and he waited. He just- he didn’t want to miss them, that was all. 

He wasn’t sure how long it had been before Fairy Godmother found him, but it had been dark for a really long time, and no one had called him. 

“Chadwick, sweetheart?” she called, edging around the corner of his nook tentatively, like she wasn’t sure he was there. He wasn’t sure if she was relieved or not when she caught sight of him. “There you are, dearie. No one’s seen you all day.”

He was pretty sure by ‘no one’, she meant his teachers. He couldn’t think of anyone else who would have noticed his absence.

“I’m w-waiting,” Chad murmured, his teeth clattering. “For my d-dad.”

Chad couldn’t see her expression because he was staring down at his phone, worried that he might miss a call. He was torn between conserving the battery and checking it and the anxiety was slowly getting to him. 

Because he wasn’t looking, he missed her drawing closer until he felt her arm around his shoulder. At first he tensed, but then he melted into it. “Chadwick, dear, have you… have you been waiting all day?”

“Y-Yeah.” Chad jerked his head in a nod. “I d-didn’t want to m-miss him.”

She didn’t say anything for a moment, merely choosing to rub small circles on his arm. “Honey, I don’t think he’s coming.”

“N-No.” Chad shook his head. “It’s P-Parents’ Day. He h-has to come, he’s my _parent_.”

Granted, he didn’t like Chad much, but he wouldn’t- he wouldn’t _not_ come, would he?

But then Chad remembered all the birthdays he didn’t celebrate, all the Yules they never shared, and wondered why he thought _this_ , of all things, would be any different.

“Oh, _no_ ,” Chad cried, scrubbing at his cheeks. “He’s not- he’s _not_ coming.”

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” Fairy Godmother said, and at least she seemed to mean it. “Why don’t you come stay the night in my cottage with me and Jane?”

“N- _No_.” Chad couldn’t- he wasn’t supposed to _intrude_. How could he think about doing that when his own dad didn’t want to see him? “T-Thank you. I- I’m sorry, I-” Chad couldn’t steady his breathing. “W-Why doesn’t my dad l-like me?”

“ _Sweetheart_.” She hugged Chad close and sounded so sad, because perhaps the reason was really obvious and it was pathetic that Chad hadn’t figured it out for himself. “Your dad likes you-”

“No he _doesn’t_ ,” Chad sobbed. “And I don’t think he ever did.”

It was the only thing that could explain it, could explain everything. It was the only reason Chad had. 

And it _hurt_.

-:-:-:-:-:-

When Chad turned fourteen, he decided enough was enough.

He wasn’t sure _how_ he decided this, or what had been the final straw. He was used to looking into the stands at a Tourney game and not seeing his father. He was _used_ to no one showing up for him on Parents’ Day. He was used to his phone calls being ignored and never returned and his emails bounced back and his letters whisked into the void. He was used to it, so he didn’t know what made him finally look into the stands after the last game of the year at Auradon Junior Prep and realize that he was done. 

He just didn’t get the point in all this. They didn’t expect him to be a good king and his dad didn’t want him as a son and no one wanted him as a friend, so what was he _supposed_ to do? 

It wasn’t really a conscious decision, to start walking. He’d changed back into his regular clothes after the game, and while everyone else was celebrating with their friends and family, Chad turned to walk back to his room so he could get a start on his homework.

Only he’d passed the dormitory. 

And after he passed the dormitory, it was easy to pass the auditorium and the library. Easy to pass the dining hall and the gardens and the academic building and the observatory. It was easy to walk off campus and into the woods and then just keep going, until he was marching off the beaten path, pushing foliage out of his way as he kept marching onwards.

He wasn’t even sure what he was looking for, really. He didn’t know where he was going, he just knew there had to be something else out there, so he kept walking. 

And then jogging, and then running. 

He ran. Ran until his feet were tired and his lungs ached and he could barely see in front of his face for the darkness. He ran until it was no longer safe to do so, until he was exhausted, and then he curled into a ball at the base of a tree and passed out.

When he woke up again, he was sore and hungry, his neck ached and his eyes were crusted with sleep but he pushed himself up and started running again. He ran until the trees became mountains, and then he climbed, pushing himself into the crisp, cooler air, until he wasn’t sure he was in Central Auradon anymore, but what did it matter, perhaps what he was looking for wasn’t in Central Auradon anyway. 

He didn’t eat much. He recognized some berries and nuts as good and ate those, saved some for later and drank water from a stream. He climbed and ran until he was too tired to do so, and then he sort of hobbled down the other side of the mountain. 

Days passed, and he probably didn’t smell great, but it was- this was freeing, he thought. It was sort of like those two weeks he had hidden in the attics, only he couldn’t do art but that was a fair tradeoff for the fresh air. This was… this was good, he decided. 

Realistically, he knew he wasn’t eating enough. Drinking, enough. He knew he was slowing down, and he knew what that meant, but he just didn’t really mind. He sort of got why Queen Elsa had run away all those years ago. Out here, he didn’t have to worry about who he was failing or what anyone else thought. Out here, he was just a man of the woods. Perhaps he’d become like King Tarzan – rule over his own forest. Wouldn’t that be something?

There came a day where Chad couldn’t get up from where he’d passed out the day before. 

It was a scary day. Or, it was scary in a distant sort of way. The other part of Chad, the one that had learned to block out the hunger pains in his stomach and the blisters on his feet and the chafing in his thighs, that one felt slightly content. Because he’d been in control of his own storybook ending. _He’d_ decided. And perhaps he didn’t get a ball with a beautiful princess, but that didn’t mean this wasn’t nice. He had trees and evergreen and birds. 

So he hummed to himself when the darkness started to fade in on the edges of his vision, and when it took him, he wasn’t afraid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the most angsty it gets. From here on out, it's all uphill, I promise :)
> 
> Thank you guys so much for all the feedback and support!! I love reading how cute you think these two guys are, and I’m glad their inevitable love story is entertaining ^_^ 
> 
> Story notes:
> 
> So despite having a pretty big part in the live action movie, the Captain of the Guard does not actually have a name in the Cinderella remake. Therefore I have chosen to name him after the actor that portrayed him, making him Captain Anozie.
> 
> Calliope is the head muse from Hercules. She is the muse of epic poetry, which I thought equated her well enough to a drama teacher. And yes, she is definitely making up props she may or may not need just so Chad can have an artistic outlet.
> 
> WARNING – Non-graphic suicide attempt. In the last scene, Chad succumbs to his depression and runs away from school. He runs through the woods and makes little effort to take care of himself. It isn’t an active suicide attempt so much as he stops putting for the effort to keep going. If you would like to skip this, look for: 
> 
> ‘Days passed, and he probably didn’t smell great, but it was- this was freeing, he thought. It was sort of like those two weeks he had hidden in the attics, only he couldn’t do art but that was a fair tradeoff for the fresh air. This was… this was good, he decided.’ 
> 
> You can then skip the rest of the scene. 
> 
> Until next time


	4. Freshman Year

Chad woke up in slow increments.

The first thing he noticed was that he still hurt, which didn’t seem entirely fair, but life wasn’t fair anyway, so he didn’t dwell on it. 

His body felt heavy and slow, so blinking his eyes open seemed like a monumental effort. Still, he managed it, because as tired and sore as he felt, he also wasn’t dirty, which seemed like a weird turn of pace. 

When he opened his eyes, Chad realized he was lying in a bed – only it was one he’d never been in before. He might have seen something like it, back when… oh, the river, when he’d almost drowned. He must be in a hospital.

Chad was supposed to avoid hospitals, and to be fair, he never purposefully tried to get sent to them. It just sort of happened.

“Your highness?”

Chad blinked towards the voice slowly, then smiled when he realized who it was. “Captain Anozie,” he greeted in a rough whisper, his voice hoarse from disuse. “How are you?”

The captain, who was hunched in a chair next to Chad’s bed, offered him a tired smile. “I’ve been better. And you?”

“Sore,” Chad replied honestly. “N’tired.” He looked around, trying to take in his surroundings. “What day is it?”

“You’ve been missing two weeks,” the captain informed him, answering the question Chad had truly intended.

“Huh,” Chad huffed, grinning. “Seems like that’s my maximum.”

The Captain’s smile fell. “It’s not funny, your highness.”

“No,” Chad sighed. “I guess it isn’t.”

It sort of was for Chad, but if it made the captain feel bad, he wasn’t going to mention it anymore.

There was a pause.

“What were you looking for?” the captain asked.

Chad shrugged. “Not sure.”

Freedom seemed like the most likely prospect. 

The captain sighed. “Your father was worried.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, captain,” Chad said, his hands tensing in the sheets. “I know he doesn’t care.”

The captain’s brows furrowed, and were Chad better at reading expressions, he would think the man was conflicted. “He does care, your highness. He is not good at showing it, but he does care.”

What good was caring if you didn’t show it, Chad wondered. If he ever had kids, he was going to hug them every day and read them bedtime stories and call them all the time and let them paint if they wanted to and never lock them into dark rooms. 

He’d probably never have kids, but if Chad _did_ , he had a plan in place. A better plan than his father.

The captain’s head slumped in a sort of weary surrender. “…did you want to die?”

“I wasn’t afraid of it,” Chad replied honestly. He always tried to be honest, with the captain. “It seemed easier than what I was doing before.”

Perhaps that made him a coward. 

The captain looked so very sad, but he often looked that way. “I’m sorry, your highness,” he said quietly. “I’m sorry we have not been there for you.”

“I don’t think it’s your job to be there for me.” Chad frowned. “You’re supposed to protect my dad, and he’s not dead, so you did a good job.”

“I’m am tasked with your protection as well.”

“Oh.” Chad hadn’t thought of that. “Then I suppose if I died that wouldn’t look great for you.”

“If you died, it would be a terrible loss to Sardinia,” the captain said with significant gravitas. “We have not done a good job showing you that.”

Chad scrunched his nose. “There’s other people in line for the throne behind me.”

“Yes, but they are not _you_ ,” the captain said like that meant anything, like Chad was special. Chad hadn’t done a special thing a day in his life. “Chadwick-”

The door opened before the captain could finish his sentence, not that Chad would have processed his words because _Ben_ was standing there, red-eyed and puffy faced and shoulders so tense they were up near his ears.

“ _Chad_ ,” Ben said, and then he was just sort of hurling himself at Chad, or like, his waist, curling around the blond as much as he could and nuzzling against his stomach with a whimper. “Chad, Chad, _Chad_.”

“H-Hi, Ben,” Chad whispered, half afraid that if he did anything, Ben would go away. “How are you?”

“ _Chad_ ,” Ben cried, a shudder rocking through his body. “Fuck. _Fuck_. You were gone and no one even knew for like _four days-_ ”

“Four days isn’t bad,” Chad offered, trying to look on the bright side.

Ben snarled into his stomach. “They should have noticed the moment you left campus,” he hissed. “It shouldn’t have happened at all, because you should have _friends_.”

The words made Chad tense. “S-Sorry.”

“What?” Ben blinked up at him, and then upon seeing Chad’s distressed expression, he climbed up onto the bed properly so he could pull Chad against his chest. “No, you don’t have to apologize for that. That wasn’t- you didn’t do anything wrong. _I_ was wrong, listening to my stupid parents-”

“Ben,” Chad gasped, letting his arms curl around the other prince because he needed to get what he could before Ben reached his senses. “P-Please don’t- don’t do this then leave-”

“ _Never_ ,” Ben swore, nuzzling into his hair. “I don’t give a shit if we’re _codependent_. You’re my friend, and I’m tired of watching you hurt.”

“ _Ben_ ,” Chad sobbed, tears pouring down his cheeks. “Ben-”

“It’s okay,” Ben whispered, rubbing his back, holding Chad close. “It’s okay, Chad. It’s okay. I’m here. I’m not going this time, I’m _here_.”

He kept murmuring to Chad as the blond cried into his chest, cried the way he never indulged to when he was alone. There didn’t seem to be any point, but now there was Ben, and-

He just- he needed to keep Ben there. He needed to be good for him.

Chad knew in that moment he’d do whatever it took to make sure Ben wouldn’t leave again.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad wasn’t sure what kind of magic Ben had worked while he was gone, but when he returned to his classes no one asked him any questions about his two-week excursion. There was also the benefit of having Ben by his side again, Ben waiting outside his dorm room to walk Chad to his locker, Ben letting Chad sit by him at meal times, Ben joking with him in the locker room. It was everything Chad had hoped school to be and more, and he tried very hard not to shatter the line he had crossed before by being too clingy. 

Overall, people were more surprised by Chad’s sudden involvement in school than they were his disappearance. 

Well, most people.

“Okay, I gotta know,” Prince Malvin – with his thick DunBroch accent and wild head of curls – spoke up when they were getting ready for post-season Tourney practice. “Is he special needs? ‘Cuz I’m gonna feel real shitty if we’ve been ignoring him for a year-”

The question was aimed at Ben, which was why Chad hadn’t been paying a whole lot of attention to it, at least until the part where Ben let out a deep _growl_ and bodily tackled Malvin to the floor. 

“Ben!” Chad said over the following commotion, doing his best to try and pull the lanky prince of Auradon off his teammate. “Ben, _knock it off_.”

“Holy shit,” Aziz marveled, trying to fend off Ben’s grabby hands with wide-eyed confusion. 

Eventually Hero – the son of King Hercules and Queen Megara – was able to pull Ben off of Malvin, who seemed more befuddled than actually wounded from the experience.

“ _Ben_ ,” Chad said when the brunette was set back onto his feet. “You can’t just attack people. What would Mrs. Potts think? Or your _mom?_ ”

“But-” Ben trailed off in a frustrated growl, the way he did when he was struggling to find the right words. “He can’t call you that.”

“He wasn’t calling me anything,” Chad chided, tapping Ben’s forehead. “He was asking a question. He’s allowed to ask a question.”

And Ben’s super aggressive response wasn’t going to help Chad on the making-friends front, only Chad wasn’t great at that already, so it probably wasn’t a huge loss. 

“ _What’s going on back there?!_ ” Coach’s voice rumbled from the offices, and all of them froze at once.

“Um… We were doing some warmup passing practice, coach!” Malvin yelled.

“ _Well, knock it off_ ,” Coach said with his usual grumpiness. “ _All of you need to be out on the field in five minutes!_ ”

“Yes, coach!” They all chorused back, and then they just sort of stared at each other.

“…thanks, Malvin,” Chad said, tentatively angling his body between the DunBroch prince and Ben. “And sorry about that.”

“Hey, it’s cool,” Malvin said, dusting himself off. “What’s a little roughhousing between friends? Besides, Ben was right. I shouldn’t have said that.”

“No,” Ben muttered. “You shouldn’t have.”

“ _Ben_ ,” Chad sighed, shooting the prince a reproving look that Ben mostly ignored.

For whatever reason, that made Malvin laugh. “Okay so… you’re just shy, then?”

“Um… yeah?” That sounded good. Chad wouldn’t say he was _shy_ so much as unpracticed in the way of socializing which… made him shy, he guessed. 

Okay, so Malvin had been right the first time.

“Well, there’s _nothing wrong with that_ ,” Aziz said, giving Ben a meaningful look. “So um… welcome back to practice. We’re glad to have you here.”

“Especially Ben,” James – the son of King Tarzan – said, wagging his brows suggestively. “Which makes me wonder-”

“Nothing,” Aziz interrupted with a roll of his eyes. “We wonder nothing. Now you heard coach. We’ve got like, five minutes to get out there.”

“Less, now,” Hero said solemnly, and that was everyone’s cue to get back to suiting up. 

Chad reclaimed his position next to Ben, who seemed to be sulking. “Wanna hug?”

Ben tensed, then nodded carefully, more or less wrapping himself around Chad before nuzzling into his hair.

“O…kay then,” Aziz said, likely related to a different conversation that Chad didn’t pay attention to, because Chad had Ben, and that was all he needed.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Starting school at Auradon Prep was sort of scary, but at least this time Chad had Ben by his side, and both of them made the Tourney team as Freshmen, so that was pretty cool. Aziz, James, Malvin, and Hero all made it too, for their speed, accuracy, or brute strength (in the case of Hero), so it was slightly less intimidating to be in the locker room with the older princes and sons of upper nobility from the united kingdoms, all palling around and offering some good-natured hazing. 

“Look,” Jackson (or Gerald? Chad was so bad at names) began, the son of an Ulstead Duke wearing an easy smile. “Every rookie has to do it, blondie, but don’t worry, it’s real simple.”

“Yeah,” Shen, the son of an Imperial City dignitary, added on. “All you have to do is go out and buy some headlight fluid for the team bus over the weekend. We all had to do it.”

“It’s about investing in the future of the team,” Jackson said. “But in like, small ways, because we’re all on a budget.”

“That makes sense,” Chad said, furrowing his brows in thought. “Is there a particular brand I should get?”

Shen and Jackson grinned at each other, likely pleased with Chad’s enthusiasm. “Nope,” Jackson said. “Any brand of headlight fluid will work.”

“Okay.” _Wow_ , Chad was being entrusted with investing in the team. Him, and not the other Freshmen. They must think he was _responsible_.

It was great for all of three seconds, and then Aziz was pushing into their huddle with a put-upon look of one who had not been selected. “Hey, no- stop. Just – word of advice, you don’t want to mess with Chad.”

“They’re not messing with me,” Chad defended. “They wanted me to help with the team.”

“Headlight fluid doesn’t exist Chad,” Aziz said carefully, giving Chad’s shoulder a few comforting pats. “They do this every year to one of the new rookies, because most of us don’t know shit about cars.”

That… made sense. Chad _didn’t_ know anything about cars. His dad wouldn’t even let him think about trying for his permit. 

Chad’s shoulders slumped in dejection. So they hadn’t thought he was responsible, they just thought he was _stupid_. 

“But seriously,” Aziz continued, addressing the upperclassmen. “Don’t mess with Chad, unless you want to get your eyes clawed out by the future heir of Auradon.”

“Ben wouldn’t do that,” Chad said, making a face. “He only tackled Malvin. He barely got bruised.”

“He… what?” Jackson said, like he couldn’t believe what he’d just heard.

Aziz puffed up in pride. “Yep. Ben is _real_ protective of Chad, so unless you want to be on his shit list which- yes, I know, it’s amazing that he even has one of those, but he does, and he only adds to it when Chad is upset.”

“He does not,” Chad huffed. At least, Chad didn’t think. He was pretty sure? He’d have to ask Ben about it. “Ben is perfectly calm and nice and… I don’t know, mature and stuff.”

“Yes,” Aziz agreed. “When you are happy, he very much is.”

That didn’t seem accurate, but the thought of it made Chad sort of warm inside so he decided to pretend it was true. It was nice to think that he and Ben were that good of friends again, even if they weren’t.

Jackson and Shen seemed to take a step away, sharing a look before they turned back to Chad.

“You um… won’t tell him about this, will you?” Jackson asked, seeming a little worried.

“No,” Chad assured him. “It wasn’t ill-meant, right?”

“ _No_ ,” Shen jumped in, very adamant. “It was not. Just, you know, some light joking between friends.”

“Then we’re cool,” Chad grinned, feeling great about the entire exchange. “Thanks for the um… bonding attempt.”

“Yep,” Jackson said. “That was what that was. Definitely bonding. We are _bonded_.”

“Neat,” Chad laughed.

It was likely his imagination, but Aziz seemed entirely smug by the end of the exchange.

But that was just sort of who Aziz was. Chad had learned to appreciate him for it.

Perhaps high school wouldn’t be so scary after all.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Ben forgot Chad’s fifteenth birthday.

Realistically, it wasn’t a big deal. It _wasn’t_. 

Ben hadn’t celebrated Chad’s birthday with him for the last two years, when they weren’t friends (and that had hurt, a _lot_ , but Chad got it), but now they were friends again so perhaps Chad had expected Ben to like, send him an email or a card like he used to when Chad had been homeschooled.

The other prince hadn’t, but that wasn’t a big deal. Because Ben had a lot of friends and a lot of important things to do now that it was less than a year until his coronation, and Chad couldn’t be a baby and monopolize his time. Ben had more pressing things to pay attention to than Chad’s birthday. It was just a day, anyway. 

Furthermore, they might be friends again, but they weren’t like, _friends_. Like how they used to be, where Ben was Chad’s everything and Ben gave Chad those small smiles that seemed to be reserved just for him. 

So Chad hadn’t worried about it. Or, he’d _tried_ not to worry about it. His brain was dumb about letting stuff go, but it wasn’t like his birthday had been completely unacknowledged. Fairy Godmother had invited him over to the cottage she and Jane shared for a special birthday dinner, and there’d even been cake. They’d played dominos and Jane had let him sketch her, so overall it had been his favorite birthday ever, except for whatever reason when he said as much, Fairy Godmother had gotten really sad.

He wasn’t sure what that was about.

Point was, things were fine. And like, _perhaps_ Chad was a little off his groove because he’d thought he’d known where he stood with Ben but he’d been wrong, but that was part of being human, Chad guessed. It wasn’t unfair for this uncertainty to be reflected on the Tourney field, because Chad didn’t really want to get anywhere near Ben but Chad also had to block him so sometimes he overcompensated and shoulder checked him too hard or panicked and just ended up tripping him instead of tackling him so… that was fun. 

But not unmanageable. And Chad knew he’d get better in time. Eventually, the dumb feelings would fade, and this would be a funny story that he told to himself and the school counselor. 

He didn’t expect the matter to come up. _He_ certainly hadn’t brought it up, but they’d been changing after Tourney practice (he did that with the others now, after Ben told him changing alone had made him look like a snob) when Aziz had turned the conversation towards birthdays.

“I’m not saying we have to go crazy,” he said, taking offense at the eyes Hero rolled at him. “But Malvin’s turning _fifteen_. That deserves more recognition than a cake and some pizza. We should have like, obstacle courses and a tournament of champions and arrows with _fire_.” 

Ben, who’d been watching Aziz’s explanation unfold with an amused grin, shook his head. “I’m gonna go ahead and veto that last thing.”

“Benjamin,” Aziz had groaned. “Ben. _Benny_. Didn’t you hear me? Fifteen. Malvin is turning _fifteen_ , I mean-” He gestured towards Chad. “You wouldn’t want Chad’s fifteen birthday to be boring, would you? Speaking of…” Aziz turned his attention back to Chad. “When is your birthday anyway?”

“It was a month ago,” Chad said, proud of how disinterested he’d managed to keep his tone while he shrugged back into his shirt, so much so that he’d missed the sudden stillness that had fallen over the locker room. 

When he looked back in the others’ direction, Aziz was no longer smiling, and Ben looked sad.

“Chad,” Ben began, all regally conflicted. “I’m so sorry.”

“What?” Chad was confused. “Ben, it’s okay. It’s just another day.”

“No, it isn’t,” Ben insisted, the furrow in his brows indicating he was about to get super stubborn. “You turned _fifteen-_ ”

“And last year I turned fourteen,” Chad said, and wow, he was so cool. You would not know he’d been torn up about this. He was _smooth_. “It’s really not that special.” No one said anything, but Chad ignored them, deciding to fix his curls in the small mirror he had hanging in his locker. “I think the flaming arrow thing has promise if we have like, a bunch of fire extinguishers on standby. Or perhaps just the sprinkler system.”

That would probably work.

When he looked back to the others, Ben did not seem any less stricken. “Chad-”

“ _Ben_ ,” Chad sighed, rolling his eyes. “It isn’t a big deal. I never celebrate my birthday anyway. Besides-” He shut his locker, then picked his backpack up in an easy movement. “Fairy Godmother baked me a cake. It was _awesome_.”

This did not seem to appease the team any, but Chad had the feeling that nothing would until he left.

So he went ahead and did that.

“Let me know what you end up deciding to do for Malvin,” he said, then deftly turned on his heel, walking away like a damn boss.

“ _Aw, shit_ ,” he heard Aziz grumble from behind him, and Chad decided that had nothing to do with him. Obviously.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Ben got weird, after that. He kept trying to apologize to Chad and Chad kept insisting it was fine while slowly losing his ability to sound like it was _fine_ and neither one of them would give any ground. Because Ben was a good guy and wanted to treat Chad right and Chad was too proud to be someone’s obligation so they just sort of awkwardly hovered around each other while their relationship deteriorated all over again.

It probably wouldn’t have been such a problem if it didn’t start reflecting in how they played Tourney.

Ben was distracted, so he wasn’t scoring as much. And then Chad was distracted because Ben was distracted and that was a problem, because both of them were like, the best players for their respective sides. 

It was beginning to affect the rest of the team, and Chad felt bad about that, he just also didn’t know what to _do_ about it either.

“There’s a new exhibit opening at the Art Museum this weekend,” Ben was saying after practice, staring at Chad very earnestly. “It’s interactive. Like, you can go and touch the art and take a bunch of pictures and… anyway, I was thinking that I could get us tickets-”

“Ben,” Chad sighed his very weary sigh. “I already told you we don’t have to do anything for my birthday.” It was almost two months ago, and some point, Ben needed to _let this go_.

“Birthday?” Ben echoed with a feigned innocence Chad wasn’t buying. “Who said anything about your birthday? We’d just be hanging out-”

“Which we don’t do,” Chad interrupted, making Ben’s face fall. “Because you are understandably busy and please stop pouting.”

“I’m not pouting,” Ben pouted. “I just want to take my friend out for this really cool thing I know he’ll like-”

“Just let it drop, man,” Chad sighed, again, and then considered doing it a third time because that seemed to work for Audrey when she was annoyed. “I already told you I’m not upset-”

“ _Hey!_ ” Aziz interrupted, loud enough to make Chad and Ben both startle. “We have a fun tradition in Agrabah,” he continued blithely, as though he had not just shouted at them. “When you miss your friend’s birthday, you take them for a _tarikh alaietidhar_ to clear the air between you and cement your friendship for many moons. Perhaps you guys should do that.”

Chad frowned. “What’s a- um…”

“Tarikh alaietidhar?” Aziz offered. “It’s a way of expressing apology and appreciation in one. Because sometimes life gets busy and you lose your way, but the important part is finding your footing again, which is what a tarikh alaietidhar can help you do.”

“But um… what is involved in a tarik ala-thingy, Aziz?” Malvin asked, his voice seeming extra pointed for some reason.

“You do something the um- offended party likes,” Aziz said. “Like that museum thing would work, and then you share a meal together to cement your bonds.”

“And then um… you go for a walk, right?” Hero spoke up, blushing under their sudden attention. “I mean, Aziz told me about it when I asked him about Agrabah traditions for my Kingdom Studies class-”

“ _Right_ ,” Aziz said. “Right, I’d forgotten- _yes_.” He turned back to Chad and Ben. “After the meal you share a walk to clear away any negative air between you, and then you’re back at um- square one, essentially. You’re even.”

“Total bros again,” James offered solemnly.

“Huh.” Chad said. He hadn’t even known that was a thing. “I mean, I guess if there’s a tradition for it-”

“It would be rude not to indulge,” Ben finished for him with a smile. “I mean, as the future ruler of the United States of Auradon, it’s important for me to experience all of its cultures.”

“Ben, dude – relax,” Chad said, smiling. “I’m already onboard.”

It might just be Chad’s imagination, but it seemed like everyone else was relieved by that.

Teenagers could be so _weird_ sometimes.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad ended up being super glad for this Tarik ala-thingy because spending a Saturday afternoon with Ben was the best. It was almost like old times, but instead of riding through the forests they were throwing confetti and drawing on walls, and instead of a picnic, Ben took Chad to a really fancy Auradon restaurant where they got a private room specifically so they could like, play cards and eat at the same time. 

And then Ben had taken him on a walk through the gardens Queen Belle had dedicated to Chad’s mother, and they spent a lot of time staring at his mother’s statue until Ben passed over a sketchbook and requested a picture, and how could Chad refuse?

By the next Tourney practice, things were back to normal. Ben could score again and Chad could block again and they could laugh and joke like the sort-of friends they were, and Chad felt much better about his place in the world.

“Fucking _finally_ ,” he heard Malvin mutter when they trudged back towards the locker rooms to change.

Impatient guy – practice hadn’t been _that_ long.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Guess what?” Ben chirped when they were cooling down from practice, chugging the last of their water before they would go to the locker rooms to change. “I asked Audrey out and she said yes.”

“What?” It was Aziz who responded first, which was good, because it gave Chad more time to think on how he felt about that. “ _Why?_ ”

Chad knew the answer to that question, at least. “Because she’s an awesome princess, that’s why,” he replied, offering Ben a high five. 

The crown prince stared at it a moment before eventually reciprocating, which made Aziz more confused. “No, I mean, you don’t love her.”

“They just started dating, Aziz,” Chad explained while Ben got all tense for some reason. Honestly, and people thought _Chad_ was dumb. “Of course they’re not in love yet.”

“And you’re okay with this?” Aziz asked, turning his focus onto Chad.

The blond shrugged. “I support all of Ben’s choices.”

If he wanted to date Audrey, who was… sort of mean, but also strong and very pretty, then who was Chad to argue with him?

Aziz and Malvin shared an unreadable look before the son of Queen Merida stared at the sky. “This is gonna be a fuckin’ catastrophe.”

“Don’t be mean, Malvin,” Chad chided, trying to emulate Fairy Godmother. “Ben can’t be _that_ bad at dating.”

“Um… what?” Ben asked, but Chad and Malvin were already breaking down into the intricacies of Ben’s dating strengths while Aziz just looked sort of despairing. Perhaps _he_ wasn’t ready to date yet.

Chad was, and he knew Ben was too. 

Because they’d practiced.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Let’s get one thing straight,” was how Audrey greeted Chad when she cornered him right before lunch, her hips swaying in a menacing sort of prowl. “I am Ben’s girlfriend, not you.”

“Yes, I know that,” Chad said, feeling a little pained that the princess thought he was so tragically dumb that he didn’t understand that. “I was there when Ben announced it.”

This did not seem to comfort Audrey any. “I am his girlfriend,” she repeated. “ _Me_.” 

“Yes,” Chad agreed.

“That means _I_ am the one he will be taking on dates,” she said. “ _I_ will be the one to go with him to coronation, and Cotillion, and I will be his Lady of the Court until he proposes to me and then we’ll get married.”

The way Aziz had sold dating to Chad made it seem like you weren’t destined for such an extended commitment. Like, you agreed to be exclusive, but that was about it. 

Chad hadn’t realized Audrey and Ben already had their whole lives planned out.

It made Chad feel sad for what was undoubtedly dumb reasons, because Ben had once promised to marry Chad too, but obviously the other prince didn’t love Chad. At least, not like that.

He guessed their fairytale really was over.

“…it’s good that you’ve got a plan,” Chad offered, because he didn’t really know what else to say.

Audrey glared at him. “I am not his beard.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Chad replied honestly, and yet she glared harder.

“Don’t play coy with me,” she muttered. “I just want you to know that I’ve got my _eye on you_.”

“Okay,” Chad said, shrugging. And then- “Does that mean we’re friends?”

Instead of answering Chad’s question, Audrey leered at him. “I’m _watching_ you.”

And then she sort of fluttered away, though why, Chad did not know, because they sat at the same table at lunch.

Ben had not been lying about her flare for the dramatics.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad couldn’t get a girlfriend.

It was not a thing he complained about, because it was not a thing he was _surprised_ about, but still, he couldn’t help but feel a little bad about it. 

At least he wasn’t entirely alone in his girlfriendless world, because a lot of the guys on the Tourney team were single. Most of the time it was because they were busy, or focusing on their own pursuits, or preferred casual dates as opposed to a committed relationship, but like, Chad wasn’t _them_. Chad tried to talk to pretty girls, and a lot of times he was pretty okay at it. He’d learned that even though he was dumb, he was considered funny, and girls liked funny guys who paid attention to them. 

Or, they liked them, but not enough to actually _date_ them, because the few princesses Chad had tried to ask out had seemed surprised by this development, giving him a weird look before ultimately turning him down. 

But like, in the nicest way, so there was that. 

Chad wasn’t sure what he was doing _wrong_ , so he’d stopped after a few times to reevaluate, and eventually turned to Aziz for advice.

“What?” Aziz blinked up from the depths of his Tourney locker, like he hadn’t heard the question.

“Am I doing something wrong?” Chad repeated, his voice low but not low enough to escape Malvin’s hearing, who pretended he wasn’t a horrible gossip when he definitely was. “If I’m doing something wrong I want to fix it, so I can get a girlfriend too.”

Aziz considered him for a moment, Malvin pretending not to wait in breathless anticipation. “Look, I’ll be honest, having a girlfriend is not all that it’s chalked up to be. Have you ever thought that perhaps these rejections are a gift in disguise?”

Chad made a face. “Ben has a girlfriend.” 

“Yeah,” Malvin scoffed, deciding to leap into the conversation. “And we can all see what a dumb idea _that_ is – I mean, the guy hardly has any free-time now, right?”

Chad pretended to stew over this fact, though it was entirely unnecessary, because he’d been bemoaning that very truth to himself on a regular basis. 

“Think about it,” Aziz cut back in. “If you got a girlfriend – you’d have to spend a lot of time with her, and then you’d have even less time to spend with your friends.”

He meant Ben, but Chad always appreciated Aziz’s tactfulness when they had these kind of conversations. 

He also made a very good point. If it was difficult to hang out with Ben _now_ , it’d be even worse if they both had to work around their girlfriends.

“You make a good point,” Chad said, making Aziz’s shoulders relax for some reason. “I guess I can hold off on the whole girlfriend thing.”

“We talking about girlfriends?” James asked, sliding into the conversation with Hero on his heels. “You getting one of those? Or perhaps a _boyfriend?_ ”

“Goodness _damn you_ , James,” Aziz grumbled, though Chad didn’t pay him any mind; too busy fixating on James’ suggestion.

“We can date guys?” Chad asked, looking at the other princes. “I thought we were only supposed to date princesses.”

Chad did like the idea of dating another prince, if only because they seemed entirely less complicated and more familiar than ladies were. Come to think of it, the oldest heir to Maldonia was kind of cute. He had a kind smile, and his hair was curly like Chad’s. They could be curly hair bros.

“Yep!” Aziz said, doing that thing where he got so excited he had to start shouting for no reason. “That is _absolutely_ correct. We are only supposed to date princesses and princesses are complicated so why don’t you just _not_ do that?”

“Besides,” Hero said. “We’re um… all pretty certain you’re going to be fine in a couple years.”

That seemed cryptic, but supporting.

“You are?” Chad asked, looking over them carefully.

They all nodded.

“Trust me,” Aziz said. “There’s no need to stir the waters. Just fly solo, like Malvin-”

“ _Hey_ ,” the DunBroch prince griped.

“-and when we turn- say, _seventeen-_ ”

“You’ll be fine,” James said, grinning. “And _we_ will have a fully-functioning Tourney team.”

“I don’t see what one has to do with the other,” Chad replied, honestly befuddled.

Aziz gave his shoulder a comforting pat. “That might be for the best, really.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now you can see what the Tourney team has to put up with, but man, does it only get worse, lol ;)
> 
> Thanks to everyone for the feedback!! Your support is always greatly appreciated, especially during these crazy times that are steadily getting less crazy, I hope ^_^
> 
> Next chapter, we finally get to the VKs! And there was much rejoicing :D
> 
> Story notes:
> 
> Timelines are dumb, but let’s say that last chapter covered all of Chad’s seventh grade and the beginning of eighth grade. Tourney season ends around the time football season does (for me), so this chapter begins around the end of October of his eighth (and final) year at Junior Prep. I’m also assuming that sports are divvied up by semester, so they’d still have Tourney practice until December, and then in January it would switch over to Swords and Shields. At least, this is my logic. 
> 
> The ‘headlight fluid’ thing is taken from season 1 of the popular webseries RedvsBlue, where they totally send a rookie off to find this made-up thing just to get him out of their hair. Also, please don’t go searching for headlight fluid, it is very not real.
> 
> Jackson and Shen were made up for the purposes of this story, and you are free to use them as background antagonists if you want. I very much did not put much thought into inventing them. 
> 
> Ulstead is also King Phillip’s kingdom, as dictated by the second Maleficent movie.
> 
> Realistically, if Ben was super-duper invested in Chad, he would not have forgotten his birthday. I’m pretending this version of him was super overwhelmed with training to be king and fell into the old habit of not paying attention to Chad’s birthday because he hadn’t for the past two years, which isn’t great, but is a good enough explanation for the sake of angst for me :)
> 
> According to Google Translate, ‘tarikh alaietidhar’ is a direct translation of ‘Apology Date’ in Arabic. Did Aziz make that up? You bet your ass he did.
> 
> Until next time :)


	5. Sophomore Year – Beginning

“Hey, Ben,” Chad greeted, walking into the crown prince’s suite without knocking, as was his habit. “I need to do a report for my Magical Histories class, and I was wondering if there were more books available on Merlin or-”

“Do you think they’re settling in okay?” Ben interrupted, his gaze aimed out the window, obviously lost in thought.

Chad felt his train of thought derail in a horrible explosion. “Is um… _who_ settling in okay?”

“The transfer students,” Ben elaborated, except he didn’t because Chad didn’t know who the hell he was talking about. Thankfully, Ben knew Chad well enough to realize this, because he continued with, “The kids I invited over from the Isle.”

“Oh.” Chad blinked, stepping back to really think about the question. “I mean, I think they’re doing fine for being the new incarnations of evil itself.”

“ _Chad_.” That got Ben to look at him, his expression scandalized the same way it had been any time Chad had mentioned his lack of family interaction back in the day. “You can’t say that stuff.”

“What?” But Chad had been quoting his private tutor directly. If he couldn’t trust her, who was he supposed to trust? “Is that not true, then?”

_Ugh_ , just when Chad thought he’d gotten one thing right.

“No, Chad,” Ben pressed, which was just great, because Chad had already gotten that Evie chick to do his homework for him which he _hadn’t_ felt bad about because until three minutes ago she was an abomination just using him for his dastardly good looks and now she was just a person, he guessed. “Of course it isn’t. Who’s been telling you that?”

Chad didn’t say anything. Ben didn’t like it when he talked about his tutors, it made his face go all pinched.

The other prince sighed. “They’re just kids, Chad.”

“Kids that stare at you a lot,” Chad pointed out, because he’d been wanting to say something but if he said something that would reveal that he had been staring at _them_ a lot, but really he’d just been waiting for them to do something evil so he could stop them and his dad would perhaps talk to him again. “They might want to kill you.”

“ _Chad_ ,” Ben said, all chiding and disappointed, and sometimes Chad wondered why he talked to Ben at all because it seemed like he could never make him happy.

Well, Chad had that effect on a lot of people, so if he did that, he probably wouldn’t talk to anyone ever.

Ben sighed, staring up at his ceiling the same way Audrey did when Chad was being particularly dumb. “I’m just one of the people that’s nice to them, is all. I guess they’re not used to that.”

“Huh.” Chad could relate to that, because Ben was also one of the few people that was consistently nice to Chad, and Chad also stared at Ben a lot because of this. 

Turned out he had a lot more in common with the Isle kids than he thought, which was perhaps not great for him.

Ben stared at him in renewed interest. “Hey, why don’t you try being nice to them?”

“Oh.” Chad frowned, thinking that over. “Yeah, I don’t think that would work.” The newest note from his grandfather’s assistant said he wasn’t supposed to talk to the Isle kids unless it was to ‘ _right their wrongs_ ’.

You know, like a good prince.

“Come on, Chad,” Ben sighed. “I know you’re a good guy, deep down.”

Chad just sort of blinked at Ben, his stomach seeming to fill with ice. “Are you saying that I’m not a good guy regularly?”

Ben pointedly did not say anything, his expression conflicted. “I… I wouldn’t say that, Chad, but you have a tendency to get caught up in the majority opinion, which isn’t always _right-_ ”

“So I’m dumb, too,” Chad said. And like, he already _knew_ he was dumb, it just sort of hurt to hear Ben say that to his face.

The other prince’s expression crumpled. “No Chad, that’s not what I’m saying.”

“That’s what it sounds like you’re saying,” Chad snapped, feeling an uncomfortable sort of frustration build in his chest. “But perhaps I’m just too dumb to understand you right.”

“Chad-” Ben tried to protest, because he was a _good guy_ , like Chad might be _deep down_ , but not regularly. 

“Why don’t you go hang out with your new friends?” Chad asked snidely, trying to cover up the swell of hurt in his chest. “Since they’re so smart and cool and _not_ evil.”

“They’re not, Chad,” Ben sighed, crossing to him. “They’re just kids, and if you just gave them a chance-”

“I bet you anything they’re going to attack you somehow,” Chad said, the words fueled by spite and meanness and not much else. “They’re staring at you because they’re going to find a way to use you-”

“That’s _enough_ , Chad!” Ben shouted, his chest heaving and nostrils flared, because Chad had awakened the _beast_. 

Chad could do that, because he wasn’t good. 

“…you’re dumb, Ben,” Chad said somewhat petulantly, because he couldn’t do anything but save face even though Chad knew he was wrong. He was always wrong when it came to having conversations with Ben. That’s what happened when you were the dumb, majority follower.

Ben didn’t say anything when Chad left, but he was never going to.

After all, they weren’t really friends. Ben had already proved that much. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

Despite his efforts, Chad couldn’t help but mull over Ben’s words.

Which was stupid, because Ben sure as hell wasn’t thinking about _Chad_ , but Ben had always been a sort of north star for Chad, the direction and level of greatness he was to aspire to, and as such, he had a difficult time ignoring what he said just because it had made Chad feel bad.

Which brought Chad back to what he dubbed ‘the Evie problem’. 

If Chad was right – or, more accurately, if his private tutor was _right_ – about the VKs actually being evil and trying to use Ben for their own advantage, then it was Chad’s duty to stop them. Only… he didn’t know what they wanted, or even really know them. He just knew they stared at Ben a lot and he really didn’t like it. Then again, Chad didn’t really like it when anyone stared at Ben for long periods of time, it made him want to whisk the other prince away and lock him up some place safe and sound with a lot of books where he could never get hurt. Perhaps somewhere like Queen Rapunzel’s tower, only Ben would be happy and not longing for the outside world. 

Unfortunately, Chad couldn’t do that, he had to share Ben with the rest of the world and the rest of the world included the VKs and if they were a problem, Chad had to _fix_ them. Which brought him to like, one of the few pearls of wisdom his grandfather had ever deigned to bestow upon Chad that went as such:

Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.

So you could keep an eye on them and their nefarious deeds.

Chad already sort of had an in with Evie, so he could get close to her (even if his grandfather’s assistant said not to, it wasn’t like she actually checked up on Chad all that much). Also, there was the stuff Ben had said about the VKs just being regular kids who weren’t used to people being nice to them, which sort of made Chad realize that even if they _were_ evil, that didn’t give him the right to be evil to them. That was not what heroes did, and more than anything else, Chad wanted to be a hero. 

So the next time he met Evie and she approached him with his completed homework, Chad stopped her before she puckered her lips, because they needed to have an important conversation first.

“Um… Evie?” Chad began, shifting his weight in an un-charming like fashion, but he was nervous so he couldn’t really help it.

The princess blinked her eyes open, pulling back with a confused look. “Yes, Chad?”

“I um… I wanted to apologize,” he explained, and that seemed to take her further off guard. “I uh… I really shouldn’t have asked you to do my homework. That wasn’t cool of me to do. You’ve probably noticed that I’m not that smart, and you are so I was hoping if I got an A on my homework that might impress my dad, but…” He stopped to breathe so she could actually understand what he was saying. “But I mean, if I didn’t earn it myself, it wouldn’t be that impressive anyway, and also, you um… shouldn’t have to do that to hang out with me, so…” Okay, this was going well so far. “I’d like to make it up to you. Like, you probably don’t want me to do your homework, but I’d um… be happy to do anything you want. And also thank you for fulfilling what was actually an unfair request. I’m sorry I did that to you.”

_There_ , he was pretty sure he had covered all the bases. 

Evie stared at him like he was an incomprehensible thing, which made Chad feel further uneasy, before she seemed to come to her senses. “…will you be my boyfriend?”

Oh, _wow_. Okay, going right into the deep end there, but-

Ben had said they were just kids. And Evie was really smart and pretty _and_ a princess, which checked all the boxes his grandfather’s assistant forwarded to him. 

“Okay,” Chad said, nodding. “But um… I’ve never had a girlfriend before, so if I start doing a bad job as your boyfriend, you have to let me know. Please,” he added belatedly.

Evie eyed him carefully. “And I don’t have to do your homework anymore?”

“Nope,” Chad promised. “Again, I’m really sorry about that.”

For whatever reason, that made the tension in her shoulders ease ever so slightly. “Don’t worry,” she said with a smile. “I understand wanting to live up to your parents’ expectations.”

“You do?” Chad asked, perking up.

“Yeah,” she sighed. “My mother wants me to be perfect.”

“Oh.” Chad blinked. “Then she should be pretty happy, since you seem to be.”

The comment came out easily, before Chad could really think about it and realize it was probably dumb, but then there was a pretty pink blush blooming in Evie’s cheeks, and Chad was immediately distracted by it.

“Charmer,” she said, reaching forward to take Chad’s hand in hers. It was as easy as it had been before, and while part of Chad ached to do this with someone other than Ben, he took comfort in the small action. “Can I get that kiss now?”

“Sure.” Chad grinned. “But um… I’ve never kissed a girl before, so… fair warning.”

She paused, her pretty brows furrowed. “So have you kissed guys?”

Chad could _feel_ himself blushing. “Yeah,” he admitted when he realized he’d screwed up. “Um. Lots of times. Is that okay?”

Evie considered him for a moment, then grinned. “Yeah, Chad. In fact, I consider it a bonus.” Before Chad could ask what that meant, Evie was leaning forward, and Chad – _did not rush to meet her_ , because he’d accidentally smashed his face into Ben’s enough times to know _not_ to do that, but like, he didn’t leave her hanging the way he had before, and he was sort of glad for it because her lips were super soft.

“ _Whoa_ ,” Chad said when he pulled back, grinning dopily. “Your um- lipgloss is really nice.”

Evie giggled. “Thanks. It’s fruit scented.”

“An excellent choice,” Chad said, not because she needed the validation, but because everyone liked compliments. Even potentially-evil people.

Evie giggled again, but then her expression seemed to get more serious, even though she was smiling. “Okay, as your girlfriend I would like you to take me on a date.”

“Got it.” Chad nodded, because even though he’d never had a girlfriend, he knew that much was required.

“But _because_ of the homework thing,” she continued. “I’m not sure I trust you a hundred percent.”

Chad felt his shoulders slump, but he didn’t argue with her. “That’s fair,” he admitted. 

He _had_ acted pretty un-princely.

For whatever reason, that made her smile. “So, if it’s okay with you, I would like to bring along one of my friends to chaperone. To make sure there’s no funny business.”

“That’s a good idea,” Chad said. A lot of young royals had chaperones, and since Evie didn’t have any servants (that Chad knew of), it made sense for her to bring one of her friends. “Who do you want to bring?”

She studied him carefully. “I was thinking… Jay?”

Chad’s expression crumpled. “I um- don’t think he likes me.”

Like, it was a _fair_ dislike, and also most people didn’t like Chad, but Jay was _tough_ and also Chad had been mean to his friend, which did not add up to good things. Then again, Chad sort of deserved it. 

Evie’s response was to smile. “Trust me, he’ll like you.” She leaned forward to peck him on the cheek, and Chad grinned because she’d done it so easily. “Especially since you apologized.”

“I promise I won’t do anything like that to you again,” Chad swore. “Like, I’ll work to prove that to you-”

“So you will,” Evie hummed, hooking her arm through Chad’s. “Now, why don’t you come back to my room and we can work on our homework _together_?”

“Really?” Chad perked up. “That’d be great, Evie. And you can tell me about all the stuff you like so I can take you on a good date.”

Chad would hate to take her on a bad one. Like, his princely reputation was on the line.

This made her smile wider. “I would like that, Chad.”

It didn’t even seem like a _lie_.

Of course Ben had been right after all, he always was. That didn’t make Chad less mad at him, of course, but like… perhaps good things were happening. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

Jay seemed just as confused by his inclusion in Evie’s date as Chad was, but he bore the responsibility with a casual sort of disinterest as he wandered behind Chad and Evie as they approached the Central Auradon Museum. 

It was Mal that had recommended it, murmuring hotly that Evie would never ask for herself, and if Chad ever fucked with Evie again she was going to tear out his eyeballs (which was, without question, evil, but like- only the _threat_ of evil because Chad had been mean to her friend). 

Apparently Evie didn’t think guys liked girls who were smart, but that was what had pulled Chad towards her in the first place, so he was all up for museum visits that helped her get in touch with her Hanoven roots.

“You’re also going to get her presents,” Mal had told him, one hand fisted in Chad’s collar while the other jabbed a finger in his face, Evie standing just behind the purple-haired teen with her face buried in her hands. “To make up for your dipshitness. Evie likes fabric and notions and shit.”

“This is fair,” Chad allowed, both hands raised up towards his head to show he meant no harm. “Um… what kind of fabric, though? I know a lot of princesses like silk and lace and stuff- and, what- brocades?” 

He could ask Jane. She dressed sort of cute. Like, Chad always thought the bows and ruffles were cool. 

Mal stared at him for a hard moment, then sighed. “I’ll go with you and pick stuff out.”

That made Chad smile. “Thanks, Mal!”

This earned him that befuddled stare that was beginning to become a signature of the VKs. “…you are such a damn weirdo.”

“He’s _my_ weirdo,” Evie boasted, and never had Chad ever had his oddities be celebrated, so that was kind of cool. 

He and Mal had gone shopping before the date, because Chad wanted to start off with a clean slate, and for whatever reason she eyed him carefully every time she added a new ream of fabric to the basket. It was weird, because that was the entire reason why he had brought her, and sure it had been expensive, but now he and Evie were even-steven _and_ he’d discovered that on top of being super smart, Evie was a talented seamstress.

“She made all your clothes?” Chad said when they were getting their first basket of fabric cut.

Mal stared at him with open suspicion. “…yes?”

“Then we should get her fabric to make stuff for you guys too,” Chad declared, and then he and Mal filled another basket. And also like, laughed at exceedingly awful patterns they could pick out for Jay. That had been sort of fun.

It made Chad glad he had barely touched his allowance account last year, it meant he didn’t have to go through anyone to ask for Evie’s present funds, _and_ he still had plenty of money to take her on a super cool date to the museum. 

A museum that Evie loved.

They pointedly did not go into the Hall of Villains. Evie didn’t seem to like that place any more than Chad, so Chad was happy to lead her away from the wax reactions and towards the more historical stuff in the kingdom galleries. Chad himself was not great in museums, because it was a lot of reading and Chad still struggled with that, but he _did_ like watching Evie take in the exhibits, to the point where he found himself sketching her profile on a small notepad he had tucked into his jacket pocket. 

“You draw?”

Chad twitched at the sound of Jay’s voice, flushing when he realized the other teen was looking over his shoulder, his broad body hovering very close to Chad’s back, almost like when Ben would wrap himself around Chad, only they weren’t friends so they didn’t do that anymore.

“Um…” Chad struggled not to drop his pencil. “Not really.”

“Seems to me like you do,” Jay hummed, his eyes on the picture. “Mal draws too, you know.”

Chad perked up. “She does?”

“Yeah.” Jay reached forward to trace Evie’s profile, Chad managing to capture that small grin, like she knew a funny secret that she didn’t dare share. “You should show this to her when you get back. It would definitely win you brownie points.”

“Oh…” Chad blinked. “Thank you, Jay.”

Jay shifted awkwardly, the same way he always did when Chad used basic manners on him. “…what made you change your mind?”

“On what?” Chad asked, trying to add in some shading to Evie’s picture.

“On leading Evie on,” Jay said, so blunt, and even if that had been what Chad had done, he still felt really awful about it.

The blond sighed. “I um… I talked to Ben,” he admitted. 

At the mention of the other prince, Jay perked up, just like he always did, because he was one of the ones that watched Ben the most. “Yeah? And what did ole’ Benjamin say?”

“Just that… you’re people,” Chad paraphrased. “And you’re probably used to people being mean to you, and I um… I realized that didn’t make it right for me to be mean too, even if I was trying to do it for a good reason.” He felt his shoulders slump. “On second thought, that probably makes it worse.”

Jay didn’t say anything for a moment. “Still don’t know if I trust you,” Jay admitted. “I’ll probably have to come on a few more dates, just to be sure.”

“That’s fair,” Chad said, just like every other time his worthiness was brought up. 

He’d already proven himself to suck, he _should_ be held under careful consideration. 

“You and Jay seem to be bonding,” Evie hummed when the other teen had wandered off to read up on an ancient Agraben artifact.

“Yeah.” Chad grinned. “I think he might be warming up to me. And um…” After a moment’s hesitation, he held up the sketch he had drawn for her review. “Jay said I show it to Mal, but I thought you’d like to see it too.”

Evie’s smile went from small to wide, her delicate fingers tracing the outline of the sketch before she turned her look of happiness onto Chad himself. “It’s lovely, Chad.”

Chad felt his cheeks heat in a swell of warmth. “Thank you. I had a good model.”

Evie’s giggle was music to his ears, and she even _squeezed_ his hand again. “You should draw Jay, too,” Evie advised. “Mal would like that, and I would too.”

“Oh.” Chad blinked. “Okay.”

He was beginning to realize if Mal was happy, everyone was happy, so if drawing Jay could make that happen, then he’d do it.

Later, when he showed Jay the sketch of him posed in careful concentration, the other teen would flush. Chad wondered if it was because he was embarrassed by how inaccurate it was, or something.

“Lovely,” Evie hummed, and then she was coaxing the two of them off to lunch.

Chad ended up taking the two of them to a small Hanoven café so Evie could get the _full cultural experience_ , and they dined on sauerbraten and spätzle, with black forest cake for dessert.

“Wow,” Evie murmured as she tugged Chad into the dormitories, Jay following like a diligent shadow. “That was amazing.”

“Really?” Chad should probably stop asking for confirmation because it would come off as _needy_ , but he couldn’t help but be genuinely surprised by his continual good luck. “I’m glad.”

“Me too,” Jay groaned, and he seemed to think nothing of it when Evie led them into her dorm room, where Mal was nowhere to be seen. “I had my doubts about you, but that was legit.”

“Thank-”

“But if you’re luring us into a false sense of security-”

“ _Jay_ ,” Evie groaned, but when she turned to look at Chad, she was smiling. “What he meant to say was _‘thank you’_. Now.” She stepped closer to Chad, her gaze going all half-lidded and sultry. “How about a kiss goodbye?”

“That um- would be my pleasure,” Chad stuttered, moving to meet her halfway. He cupped her cheek carefully, and it was different than Ben’s, which had been more square, even back then. Evie was soft and gentle under his hands, and Chad did his best not to break her, setting his other hand on her waist and making sure it didn’t wander. He wanted to be a _gentleman_.

Kissing Evie would always be a novel experience, because her lips were so full and soft. She was wearing a different lip gloss this time, one that smelled like cherries, and Chad was grinning when he pulled back, mashing his lips together so he could distribute what she’d left behind.

“Do we match?” he asked, puckering his lips slightly.

It made her giggle. “Sure do. So…” She stepped away from him, which Chad had been expecting but he was still sort of disappointed. He should keep an eye on that. He didn’t want them to ‘lure him into a false sense of security’ either. “How about Jay?”

Across the room, the Agraben teen froze.

“What about Jay?” Chad asked, somewhat confused, but Evie just kept smiling at him.

“Are you gonna give him a goodbye kiss too?”

She said it easily, but that didn’t stop Chad from flushing down to his toes, because Jay was a dude, but also- “But I’m dating you.”

“You are,” Evie confirmed, making some of the tightness ease from his chest. “But you said you kissed guys before-” _That_ made Jay perk up with a blink. “-and Jay did a very good job chaperoning, don’t you think?”

Well, Chad couldn’t really argue with that.

“So long as you’re okay with it,” he settled on, because he wanted to keep Evie happy.

That made the princess smile. “I’m very okay with it,” she said, urging him onwards. “Now go.”

Right.

Chad could do this. Chad had kissed Ben dozens of times and sure, that had been a while ago and Jay was different. He was tall and muscular and still wary of Chad, but like, he also seemed kind of nervous, so that made Chad feel better.

“Um…” Chad said when he approached him. “Do you want me to-”

Jay interrupted him by taking Chad’s face between his hands and pulling the prince into a deep kiss that immediately had him whining. 

That was- _oh, wow_. Chad hadn’t experienced anything like that since that one time Ben had gotten _really_ excited. 

Chad didn’t know what sounds he was making, only that they worsened when Jay kissed him again, and again, until the Agraben teen wrapped own arm around Chad’s waist and _dragged_ him forward, until they were flush against each other. 

Oh wow, oh wow, _oh wow_. 

“Hey,” Evie interrupted, her voice soft as she watched them with a look of amusement. “Save some for the second date, sport.”

At first Chad thought she was talking to him, but then Jay let out the sort of whining noise. “ _Evie-_ ”

“Second. Date,” she chided, tapping his head to punctuate each word. “Chad will still be just as eager then.”

“S-Sorry,” Chad offered, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

Evie gave him an odd look, then stroked his cheek. “You don’t have to apologize. Jay is good at what he does.”

“Damn right, I am,” Jay murmured hotly against Chad’s neck, and then there was- _yeah_ , he’d just licked Chad but apparently that was kind of nice instead of gross.

“Incorrigible,” Evie tutted. “Jay-”

“ _Fine_ ,” Jay sighed, and then he was kissing Chad one last time.

For as nervous as he’d been, Chad found that kissing Jay was just as good as kissing Evie, and he looked forward to it just as much.

“You should go,” Evie advised when Jay finally released him. “Before Jay reconsiders.”

“Um… okay,” Chad gasped. “Do you want to um- one more-?”

She silenced him with a kiss that Chad melted into. 

Okay, so this was definitely nice. He should have just done this the first time instead of listening to his tutor. It wasn’t like she made him any smarter.

“Okay, I’m gonna leave now,” Chad said. “But um- I had a great time with both of you, so…”

“Bye, Chad,” Evie said, her voice nice and sweet, and that was what carried Chad all the way back to his dorm room.

He felt like he was walking on clouds and distantly, he wondered if that was what his mom had felt like when she’d gotten to go to the ball.

He sort of hoped it was.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Jay’s inclusion in Chad’s dates with Evie became a usual thing. 

At first Chad had been a little wary, but then he realized the benefits of the arrangement. First off, Jay was a great chaperone, and he always warned Chad away from things that Evie potentially didn’t like. Second off, Jay was also super cool – though a different super cool from Evie, which meant Chad was hanging out with _two_ super cool people that both seemed to want to be around him. 

Sometimes, Evie would suggest dates that Jay would like (which just went to show how caring and generous she was and _wow_ had Chad been wrong about her), so Chad would take them to professional Tourney games or escape rooms and watch Jay puzzle his way out of a situation while Evie giggled beside Chad. At least, that was assuming she was not solving the puzzles right along with Jay, because Evie’s mind was sharp as a tack and she seemed to like winning just as much. Chad’s favorite parts of those dates was taking them out for celebratory food afterwards and listening to them explain their thought processes. And then he’d get to compliment how smart they were and they’d get all blushy (even _Jay_ ), and Chad would remember the sight so he could draw it later.

Evie also liked when he drew, and encouraged him to do it more often. Sometimes he did it with Mal, who would grumble and glare but begrudgingly let Chad look over her art and then appropriately preen when he gushed about how good it was. 

This, Chad realized, was one of Ben’s better ideas. Chad would have to thank him for it later, when they weren’t fighting anymore.

Granted, he was pretty sure the other prince didn’t _know_ they were fighting, but Chad knew, and that was what mattered.

Most of their dates ended in Evie’s dorm room (Mal, he learned, usually hung out with Carlos in his and Jay’s room to give them privacy, which was actually super nice of her) where things got a little heated. He and Evie had progressed to making out, or like, he and Evie _and_ Jay had progressed to that, because Evie liked including Jay in that stuff too. And Chad didn’t mind, exactly, because Jay was a really good kisser and it made Evie happy and it made Jay talk to him more during Tourney practice, so he was actually fine with that, even though part of him was worried that if anyone found out, he wouldn’t get to be friends with Jay anymore, since that was what had happened with Ben.

But they only ever did this in Evie’s room when they were alone, so Chad figured it was fine, and they both seemed happy that he wasn’t making a big deal of it (he’d never thought it was a big deal, to be honest). 

That afternoon they were on the couch, Chad nested in the V of Jay’s legs with his back to the other teen while Evie was in his lap, making out with Chad with a growing heatedness that left lip gloss smeared all over Chad’s mouth. He loved it though, loved the way Evie tugged at his curls or how Jay mouthed at his neck, leaving hickies against Chad’s shoulder that left him growing more and more warm. 

It felt so _good_ , and Chad knew there was a stirring interest between his legs. He made a dedicated effort not to rut against Evie because she was a _princess_ , and she deserved more than that, but it was so very hard when she was wearing a dress and he knew her panties were right _there_ and-

Chad was taken off guard when a certain firmness ground against his butt, and his breath caught for a desperate moment before he realized that was _Jay_. 

Chad wasn’t sure how he was supposed to respond in that situation, but his body shivered reflexively, sort of a helpless quake followed by a whine, even though that had mostly been nothing. 

Aw, man – what if Chad was _weird?_ What if that was a weird thing?

The other two paused, a pretty flush spread across Evie’s cheeks as she stared down at him, her lips parted as she took in small pants of air. 

It was Jay that spoke up though, his hand caressing Chad’s hip. “You like that?”

Chad’s throat felt tight. “Is… is that okay?”

“Fuck, _yes_ that’s okay,” Jay groaned, and then there was a hand _between_ Chad’s legs, sneaking between him and Evie and cupping the firm bulge there. “ _Fuck_ , Evie.”

“Don’t get greedy,” she tutted, a smile spreading across her face. “You have to share, Jay.”

“You try sharing at a time like this,” Jay growled, squeezing Chad again and making the prince whine. “Just- get off his lap, would you? If you lie back against the pillows-”

“So demanding,” she giggled, but then she moved to do just that, reclining back in front of them with a sultry look in her eye that missed nothing, and Chad didn’t know if he hated it or if he loved it because Jay was still stroking him and she couldn’t miss the way Chad’s hips rutted into the contact.

“Okay, sweetheart,” Jay whispered, and it took Chad a few moments to realize he was talking to him. “I’m gonna put you on your hands and knees so you can keep kissing Evie, okay?”

“Hands on his hips,” Evie ordered as Jay moved to do just that, posing Chad over the blushing princess who immediately tangled her fingers in his hair. “I mean it, Jay. I want a chance to touch him too.”

“But he feels so _good_ ,” Jay groaned, the hand between Chad’s legs giving him one last _squeeze_ before it settled on Chad’s hips again. 

Chad’s whine was cut off by Evie’s lips, the princess pulling him down towards her. He fell into her administrations eagerly, spurred by her sudden possessiveness, and didn’t imagine the tongue flicking against his bottom lip.

Oh- _oh_. He and Ben had never- he saw that happen sometimes but he’d never done it himself…

He opened his mouth tentatively and Evie immediately invaded, twisting her tongue around Chad’s and it was weird but it was also nice and almost a big enough distraction to block out the hands Jay settled on his hips. It was almost a foreboding thing, and then Jay was- he _grinded_ against Chad’s butt, that firmness, his- and Chad _moaned_ , rocking back into it even though he had nothing to gain from it. He just- he liked the feeling, he guessed, and he liked the sounds Jay made that went straight between his legs, making Chad feel so very hard. 

“E- _Evie_ ,” he whined, feeling worked up but unable communicate his needs, or how wild Jay was making him feel.

“I know, sweetheart,” she said, cupping Chad’s cheek tenderly. “I know it’s a lot, but you’re being so good.”

“I am?” Chad could feel his blush darken, because that was all he wanted, to be good, to know he was making someone out there proud, and Evie’s responding smile seemed to confirm that much.

“Yes,” she murmured, pulling him into another sweet kiss. “You’re being so good for Jay. So patient. You’re helping him feel good and you look so pretty doing it.”

“M-Me?” Chad had never- no one had called him pretty since Ben, but he found he liked it. Pretty seemed more achievable than ‘handsome’ or ‘dashing’, even though Fairy Godmother assured him he had achieved both things. 

He liked the idea of _pretty_ though, because his mom’s shoes were pretty and the princesses Ben looked at were pretty and Chad just really wanted to be too. 

Evie seemed to get that. “Yes,” she soothed. “You’re very pretty, Chad. Jay thinks about it all the time.”

“ _Evie_ ,” Jay groaned, and then he seemed to rut into Chad harder, sending a spike of _need_ through Chad’s chest.

“He does,” Evie assured Chad, her gaze entirely on him as she combed through his hair and stroked his cheeks and pet his shoulders. “He thinks about you in the shower after Tourney practice, and he thinks about you late at night, when he’s in bed. He thinks about you when we’re getting ready for our dates, because he knows you’re going to be so _sweet_ and _happy_ and he can’t help but get excited about it.”

“W-Wow,” Chad gasped, overwhelmed by the thought. He hadn’t realized Jay liked him. Or liked how Chad looked. That was pretty cool. “I um- I didn’t know I could um- think about him l-like that.”

“You didn’t?” Evie hummed, seeming genuinely interested. “Would you, now?”

“ _Um_.” Chad thought about it. “I’ve never- I mean, I try not to think of um- _anyone_ like that b-because it didn’t seem um- polite, I g-guess, but if he’s okay with-”

“ _Yes_ , I am okay with that,” Jay said in a rush, reaching between Chad’s legs again and palming the hardness there. “ _Fuck_. Just thinking about you all flushed and whining in the shower, thinking about _me_ while you beat one off-”

“ _Jay_ ,” Chad mewled, because that was a lot. He guessed um- there was nothing wrong with mutual aesthetic appreciation between friends.

“You can think of me too,” Evie murmured, and she had a hand sliding under her skirt, shifting between her legs so she could _touch herself_. “If you want, Chad.”

Chad crooned, throbbing into Jay’s hand.

“Oh,” Jay chuckled. “He liked that.”

“ _Guys_ ,” Chad whined, shifting helplessly.

“You’re so sweet,” Evie cooed, her mouth falling open as she started to move her hand in interest. “Waiting for permission. I think about you two all the time when I’m in the bath – my two pretty boys…”

Perhaps Chad should be offended that Evie was thinking of him _and_ a guy she wasn’t dating, but that guy was Jay, so that was like, a free pass because Chad _also_ liked Jay a lot and oh wow, oh wow, _oh wow_.

“Fuck, fuck, _fuck_ ,” Jay groaned, and then he was thrusting against Chad one last time. His hands seemed to shudder, his whole body did, and Chad wondered if he had just-

“ _Oh_ ,” Chad whispered, sharing a look with Evie before craning his head back to see Jay fall apart, his expression flushed and entirely wrecked as the remnants of his release rocked through him.

He’d just- just from grinding against Chad. 

“Yeah,” Evie panted, breath coming in a pleased giggle. “That’s a real pretty sight.”

“You two fucking ruin me,” Jay said. “Let me just…” He trailed off when he caught Evie’s expression. “Are you taking care of yourself, princess?”

Evie giggled again. “Couldn’t help it.”

“The fuck, you couldn’t,” Jay said, but it didn’t seem aggressive. Chad felt bad for a moment, because he would have done something if he hadn’t been afraid of squishing Evie, but she didn’t seem upset and Jay didn’t seem upset and Chad was still a bit lost. “Blondie, can you and Blue trade places? Let me show you how to really rock her world.”

“ _Jay_ ,” Evie groaned, but it was a happy one. It made sliding off of Evie easier, and then she was cuddled back against Jay’s chest and Chad didn’t- he thought he would feel like the third wheel or awkward because another guy was touching his girlfriend, but he didn’t. Chad sat carefully in front of them, watching as Jay urged Evie’s legs wide before pushing up her skirt, revealing her delicate panties. 

There was a damp spot in the middle of them, and Chad probably stared at that for too long before Jay was _pulling them down,_ and that was- he was looking at a girl’s private place he was looking at _Evie’s_ private place and he was sort of overwhelmed with the sheer trust of it, because he definitely still had issues with people seeing his dick. 

“Like this,” Jay said, and then he was brushing against the outside, doing _something_ that made Evie’s head fall back with a happy sigh. “Would you like to help?”

“Can you tell me if I’m doing it wrong?” Chad asked, the words feeling thick in his throat.

Jay grinned at him. “Of course, sweetheart.”

It was a super intimidating process. Chad wanted to make Evie feel good but he also didn’t want to hurt her. She seemed to like it though, and he could feel her get wet around him, which he was pretty sure was a good thing because sometimes _he_ got wet when he was um- excited, so.

“I’m gonna tease a finger inside,” Jay told him while Chad felt so very _hot_. “Just one, she doesn’t need a lot. It’s about how you use it.”

“ _Jay_ ,” Evie whispered, and Chad tried not to stare too much at the slick finger Jay urged into his girlfriend, the other teen pumping it in and out carefully.

On second thought, this was totally the best, because Chad had Jay to show him how it was done. He had someone there to support both himself and Evie, which was more than Chad could have ever hoped for. 

“You um… you look very pretty, Evie,” Chad said, because he always felt good when she complimented him and that seemed to work with her, her breath coming in a sharp inhale as a pretty smile spread across her face. “All flushed and happy. I um… I like watching Jay take care of you.”

“Y-Yeah?” she asked, looking for reassurance the same way Chad did all the time.

“Oh, yeah,” Chad rushed to assure her. “I’m um… I’m gonna think about this later, the way you’re curled up in Jay’s arms, how he’s making extra sure that you feel good.”

“Fuck,” Jay groaned against Evie’s shoulder, moving his hand a little faster.

“You um- you both are very pretty,” Chad admitted. “And once the rest of the school stops being dumb about you, they’re going to figure that out, and like, stare at you as much as I do-”

“ _Fuck_ ,” Jay repeated, and Chad was so lost in the way their heads were curled together that he missed the sound of the door opening until Mal was right next to the couch.

“What-” Mal spoke up, making all three of them freeze and turn to look at her with wide eyes. “-the _fuck_. Are you doing.”

There was a very tense pause.

“Um…” Chad began somewhat helplessly, because there was no way to hide his arousal, or what Jay and Evie were doing. “…complimenting them?”

Mal spared him a hard look, then turned to the others. “I meant you two. I thought we agreed-”

“Mal,” Jay groaned, pushing Evie’s skirt back down to hide her predicament. “Everyone here is totally okay with what is happening, so if you could just-”

“Chad’s okay with this?” Mal asked, and then before Jay could reply, she turned to face Chad head on. “You’re okay with another dude touching your girlfriend?”

“I mean…” Chad blinked. “I am if it’s Jay.”

Since Evie seemed so into it. And also, it was _Jay_.

Mal did not seem to expect this response, but the other two just sort of smiled.

“You missed it earlier, Mal,” Evie hummed, her eyes falling closed in contentment. “Jay managed to lose himself just from rutting against Chad.”

“Come on,” Jay whined. “He’s hot. You’re hot. I am only human.”

This made Evie laugh, which encouraged Chad enough to let him laugh too. 

“Ridiculous,” Mal muttered, crossing her arms. “I came back for my other sketchbook and _this_ is the shit you’re doing. You clearly don’t remember who you belong to.”

“ _Mal_ ,” Jay groaned. “Don’t be like that.”

“We’re yours,” Evie said, and Chad wondered if that just meant like they were Mal’s friends, or something. “But this is ours.”

“Fine.” Mal rolled her eyes and then she just sort of… sat down in the armchair next to the couch. “Then proceed.”

“ _Mal_.” That time, it was Evie who let out an exasperated sigh. “We built up to this-”

“Chad,” Mal interrupted, her voice hard. “These two are mine, therefore, anything that is theirs is also mine.” 

That… hopelessly confused Chad. “So like, am I dating you too?”

Mal rolled her eyes. “No, dipshit. I don’t want to date you.”

“ _Mal_ ,” Evie chided and- well, at least she defended him sort of.

“-but if this is happening,” Mal continued. “I have a right to see it. So, are you okay with that?”

“Um…” Chad looked to Evie. “Are _you_ okay with that?”

Because if Evie wasn’t, then Chad didn’t see how he had any right to be.

She and Jay sort of blinked at him, and he could _feel_ Mal startle in his peripherals.

But then Evie was smiling that comfortable, familiar grin of hers. “Yes, Chad. I’m okay with that.”

“And I am too,” Jay added, which was good, because that had been Chad’s next question.

He smiled at Mal. “Then yeah, I’m okay with that.”

Mal considered him for a hard moment, then tossed her head with a scoff. “ _Auradon_ ,” she said, like that was the full encapsulation of her annoyances with this strange new world.

Well, perhaps it was.

“Come here,” Evie said, and then she was tugging Chad into another kiss, and they um… picked things back up where they had stopped them.

Even with Mal, it was pretty neat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, look, the VKs are here! We are slowly working our way back to the beginning of the story, lol.
> 
> Thanks to everyone for the feedback!! It’s always a nice highlight to my day, and I greatly appreciated everyone who took the time out to reach out to me. You guys are the best ^_^
> 
> Story notes:
> 
> Hanover is my name for Snow White’s kingdom. In official Descendants lore, the kingdom is called Charmington, but um- I decided that was dumb and renamed it into something more official for my personal canon ;P
> 
> Shout out to that list of must-eat German foods that provided me with the sauerbraten and spätzle combination. Snow White’s kingdom was based in Germany, so I gave them Germanic food. Sauerbraten is some kind of slow-cooked beef for special occasions and spätzle is an egg noodle commonly paired with it.
> 
> Until next time :)


	6. Relationship Evolution

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GENERAL WARNING – In scene five, there is a brief discussion about Chad’s suicide attempt. Again, nothing graphic, but they do briefly talk about it. It is referenced again in scene seven much more bluntly, and frankly discussed, though no intense feelings are involved.

Mal wasn’t as encouraging as Jay, but Chad did find an added comfort in her presence because she never hesitated to tell Chad if he was doing something wrong the moment he did it, and Chad appreciated that very much.

He told her that much, and she’d considered him with another weird look before inevitably rolling her eyes. 

From then on, all post-date make out times included Mal, though she always watched from the sidelines. She watched as things got more heated, as Jay talked Chad through fingering Evie himself, or eating her out, or there was one time where the two of them took Chad between them and pulled him out of his pants, giving him a handjob while they cooed about how nice he looked. Chad liked that almost as much as he enjoyed doing it to Jay, who always got super flushed and embarrassed, and while things were _intense_ , they were still really, really cool.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“What,” James began one day before practice, staring at Chad’s collarbone with an undo amount of focus. “-is _that_?”

“Shut up, James, you dumb motherfucker,” Aziz hissed under his breath. “You didn’t see _shit_.”

“Aziz,” Chad chided, because that really wasn’t necessary. Though like, he super appreciated the Agraben prince trying to protect his personal boundaries. “It’s cool.” He turned back to James. “That, is a hickey”

It was likely Chad’s imagination, but it seemed like the entire locker room came to a halt at that, or like, the guys nearest to Chad did so the guys next to _them_ did and it likely had to do with something else, but now they were all standing and staring. 

Except for Aziz, who was just sort of looking at the ceiling in a desperate bid for patience.

“Yep,” James sighed, taking a tentative step back. “I was afraid of that.”

“Did you say hickey?” Ben sort of shouldered his way into the conversation as though he’d always been there as opposed to catching up with Carlos, who preferred to change in the bathroom but _not_ for snobbish reasons. “Who has a hickey?”

“ _I do_ ,” Aziz said really loudly at the same time as Chad, and Ben was distracted for all of a second before his gaze narrowed in on the bruise James had pointed out earlier.

And then he just sort of stared. “Where did you get that?”

Chad puffed up in what he hoped was an acceptable amount of pride. “From my girlfriend.”

“Aw, shit,” Malvin muttered, likely unrelated to the conversation as he let his head _thump_ against his closed locker.

Ben started at Chad some more, unblinking. “You have a girlfriend?”

“Yep,” Chad boasted, sharing a cheerful look with Jay. “I’m dating Evie.”

“Evie,” Ben repeated, like he wasn’t sure he had heard correctly. “You’re dating- the transfer student? _That_ Evie?”

“Yeah.” Chad nodded. “You were totally right, so I asked her on a date-” Evie had already given him the okay for him to say he had asked her, rather than owed it to her. “-and it went really well so now she’s my girlfriend. And she’s super smart and talented and pretty.” He turned to James, who seemed to be hopelessly confused. “Did you know she makes her own clothes? She made my jacket-” The one he’d just tucked into his locker. “-and it is now one of my favorite things.”

There was a pointed silence.

“You’re dating _Evie_ ,” Ben repeated and wow, he must not have gotten a lot of sleep the night before, because he was a little slow today.

Thankfully, Jay stepped in to answer on Chad’s behalf, making a show of studying his gear with disinterest. “Yep. You got a problem with that, Benjamin?”

“What?” Ben blinked, startled out of this stupor. “Of course not, I just-” He shook his head, and then Chad found himself being grabbed by the shoulder, Ben dragging him back towards the equipment room. “-I need to talk to Chad real quick.”

“O- _kay?_ ” Chad said, because now he was confused, but he dutifully followed Ben to the private room, feeling confident even though he didn’t have a shirt on and Ben was locking the door behind them.

“Chad,” Ben hissed when he turned back around. “You can’t- you can’t use Evie-”

“I’m not- _Ben_.” Chad was deeply offended that Ben assumed that much, and while he felt especially shamed because Chad _had_ tried to use Evie like, a few months ago, that was water under the bridge. She said they were fine now, and he was a good boyfriend and a pretty boy for her, which were all things he wanted to be. “I really am dating Evie. And if you’re worried about how it’s going, you can just ask Jay, since he chaperones us-”

“I know your stance on the VKs,” Ben urged, keeping his voice low. “So are you just trying to keep an eye on them?”

“Am I _incapable_ of changing my mind?” Chad shot back even though, again, Ben had sort of discovered one of Chad’s motivations. “You told me to give them a chance and be nice to them, so here I am, being nice to them-”

“I didn’t tell you to date them!” Ben growled, his voice seeming to echo through the room.

Chad really hoped the others hadn’t heard that, but that was a fear he would have to focus on later, because for _now_ -

“Why? Do you think I’m incapable of that too?” Chad shot back, feeling wounded. “I know I’m not that smart-”

“That has nothing to do with it, Chad.”

“No, I guess it’s the fact that my goodness is just _deep down_ ,” Chad snapped, feeling hurt all over again. “But I’ve been honest to Evie about everything, and she’s been honest to me about her expectations-”

“Have you thought,” Ben began somewhat ominously. “-that she might be using you?”

Chad could _feel_ himself snap.

“We’ve literally already had this conversation!” he yelled, he was yelling, he did not care because Ben was being stupid. “Except flipped, and when I brought it up, you started _yelling at me!_ ”

“Chad, calm down,” Ben urged, holding his hands up to placate him, because that was what Chad needed, to be _placated_. 

“ _You_ calm down,” Chad snapped. “Why did you even drag me back here? You could have just said ‘Chad, no matter what you do, I’ll be disappointed in you’ back in the locker room – at least then I could have kept changing.”

“You’re putting words in my mouth,” Ben said, his brows furrowed in – Chad didn’t know – _conflict_ or something. “I’m not disappointed in you-”

“Then what exactly do you need from me?!” Chad asked, because he’d do whatever Ben wanted, he always would, and he thought he’d been close but apparently Chad had just been stupid and _wrong_ again. But that was the story of his life.

Ben stood there, for once speechless, which was why Coach’s interruption was probably for the best.

“Guys?” Coach said, staring at the two of them with a concern that indicated he had heard their shouting match as he peeked into the room. “…finish suiting up and get out onto the field.”

“Right, coach,” Chad said, giving Ben one last glare. “Sorry, coach.”

“Yeah,” Ben sighed. “Sorry, coach.”

The argument set the tone for a pretty abysmal round of practice, but Chad didn’t care. 

Or, he sort of cared, but mostly he was mad at Ben. So.

That was fun. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

“What the fuck?” Jay said when they were changing out of their gear. “What happened?”

Aziz sighed. “You, my friend, have just witnessed what happens when Ben and Chad fight.”

“We’re not fighting,” Chad lied, because they were totally fighting and also _Ben was stupid_. 

“Dude.” Jay gave him a dry look. “You spent the entire time only covering Ben.”

“Well,” Chad sniffed. “He can be crafty. I needed to make sure he stayed on the ground.”

“Not that Evie isn’t going to appreciate it,” Carlos began. “But um… perhaps you should lay off the future king.”

Malvin scoffed. “You think this is bad? You should have seen the time Ben forgot Chad’s birthday.”

“Wait.” Chad blinked. “We weren’t fighting then.”

“Nah,” James sighed. “That was more like Ben fighting with himself.”

“Worst month ever,” Hero said solemnly, and all the other guys sort of stood there for a respectable moment of silence before life moved on.

Ben didn’t say anything because Ben wasn’t there. He’d decided to change back in his suite, _like a snob_. 

“Whatever,” Chad said, focusing on putting his appearance in order. He and Jay were going to hang out with Evie after this, and he wanted to look especially pretty for her. 

And no one else.

…except perhaps for Jay.

But _no one else_.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Does Ben have a crush on you?” Jay asked on the way to Evie’s suite.

“Ben is dating Audrey,” Chad pointed out, because he wasn’t sure what had brought this conversation on.

“Obviously,” Jay said, but not like, meanly. More like a statement of facts. “He just seems super possessive of you.”

“That’s Ben,” Chad said, shrugging. “That’s just sort of how he is. He’s all ‘ _I know everything_ ’ but if you try to also know everything, you’re stupid, and he has to tell you so.”

Chad trailed off into a fuming silence. Stupid _Ben_ , always assuming the worst of Chad. 

“…and you’re _sure_ he doesn’t have a crush on you?” Jay tried.

“If he does, he has a shitty way of showing it,” Chad grumbled, and it was supposed to be a joke but neither of them were laughing, Jay looking thoughtfully into the distance and Chad cursing himself yet again for imagining what dating Ben would be like. He bet it was pretty great.

Well, he was dating Evie now and he knew that was pretty great for a fact, so if Ben could _fuck off_ from Chad’s mind, that would be amazing.

But also likely impossible, because Ben had been ingrained in Chad such a long time ago that Chad couldn’t imagine a world without him, even when he was mad at the other prince.

No, _especially_ then.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Fighting with Ben was always sort of awful, even when Chad tried really hard for it not to be.

Chad was in the right, this time. At least, he was pretty _sure_ he was in the right, so that was what made it easier to ignore Ben at lunch or during Tourney practice, made it easier for Chad to sit with Jay and Evie and compliment his girlfriend’s newest designs or Jay’s latest improvement on the Tourney field. He even got to know Carlos better too, and sometimes he and Mal would sketch pictures together, each starting on one side before melding them together into a new creation. They drew a lot of sketches of Evie, which made the princess giggle and blush. 

Things with Tourney were not good. Even with Jay on the team, Chad and Ben’s lack of synchronicity seemed to drag everyone else down. It was like Chad’s fifteenth birthday all over again, only there were no special traditions from Agrabah to make it right. Ben was being a dick and Chad was doing his best to survive, and until Ben _stopped_ being a dick, Chad had nothing to offer him. 

So he turned his focus to the rest of his teammates, talking to Jay or Aziz before practice and watching the two Agrabens bond in slow but awkward leaps. As this was at least an attempted ploy at normalcy, Aziz was happy to enable it, the rest of the team trying to pretend things were fine even if Ben was totally brooding with Hero and Carlos like the dumb schmuck he was. 

That day’s topic brought them to an argument about directions. 

“I’m telling you, just take eighth street,” Chad said, trying to reign in his annoyance. He and Evie had already been to the museum James was going to like, _five times_ , Chad knew how to get there. “It’s a straight shot, and then you can turn right into the parking garage.”

James rolled his eyes. “Excuse me if I don’t want to take directions from the guy who spent two weeks lost in the woods on a _nature hike_. I’ll be taking twelfth street, and I will hear no arguments on the subject, please and thank you.”

Even though he wasn’t technically part of the conversation, Ben tensed. Which figured, he was always so _nosy_ , but since he was listening anyway, Chad decided he may as well ask the question James’ comment had brought up for Chad. 

“Hey,” Chad murmured while Malvin proceeded to explain all the ways James was ‘a right idiot’. “Is that the story they told people?”

Ben froze, as though not expecting Chad to stop ignoring him for a harmless question (and Chad wouldn’t have, but he was pretty sure Ben was the only person who knew what had actually happened that year). 

Slowly, with a prolonged gradualness that bordered on obnoxious, Ben turned to look at Chad. “Yes, because that was what happened, right?”

It was Chad’s turn to tense, though his was from surprise more than anything else. So Ben _hadn’t_ known about the full reasoning behind Chad’s quest. Perhaps that truth rested solely with Captain Anozie, though Chad had always thought it was sort of obvious what he’d done.

Huh, that certainly explained why Malvin had thought he was special needs, way back then.

Even though Chad was angry with Ben, he didn’t, _deep down_ , want to hurt him, so Chad offered him a small smile. “Yeah Ben, that was what happened.”

It wasn’t, like, _entirely_ wrong, at least. It just wasn’t entirely right either. 

Chad moved back to listen to the others, but Ben’s hand shot out, grabbing Chad’s shoulder before he could turn away. “That was what happened, _right_ Chad?” Ben repeated, the intensity in his voice drawing the attention of some of their teammates. “You just got lost?”

“Yes, Ben.” Chad tried to squeeze Ben’s hand, but it was all tense and shaking. “You can let go now.”

Ben didn’t seem to register his reply. “You’re not just telling me what I want to hear?”

The room seemed to drop into a pointed silence, and as much as Chad did want to lie to Ben, because he didn’t owe him anything…

Well, Chad had always been especially stupid.

So he managed a small shrug. “I wouldn’t say I was entirely lost.”

He’d known where he was going. Or, what he’d wanted to do. What he’d wanted to happen.

He hadn’t been scared.

“But…” Ben’s expression was crumbling, his eyes shiny with built up moisture. “But you were almost dead when they found you.”

“Yeah,” Chad nodded. “That was the point.”

You could have heard a pin drop.

It was a level of silence Chad had not thought the team was capable of, and yet there they were, with Ben’s wrecked expression and Chad’s calm apathy because what did it matter, anyway? It was over. It was done. It wasn’t like he was going to try it again. 

“ _Holy shit_ ,” Malvin muttered, the comment followed by some vigorous shushing from James.

For a moment, Ben just stared at Chad, his body wrought with a tension that seemed almost painful. 

And then he let Chad go. 

Which in itself had been the goal, but Chad hadn’t intended for the other prince to start wailing on his Tourney locker with a snarl, the metal door crumbling under the wrath of his beast strength.

“Ben!” Chad lunged forward, sort of wrapping himself around the other prince’s back and trying to pull him away. “Ben, _stop_! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

The locker was already a lost cause, but Ben didn’t seem to hear him, the brunette’s shoulders heaving with ugly sounding sobs. 

“ _Ben!_ ” Chad didn’t know what to do, because he’d never seen Ben even close to this bad, but now it sounded like _he_ was dying and his body kept trembling and the groan of metal seemed to scrape at Chad’s ears. “Ben, it’s fine! I’m fine! It’s not going to happen again!”

Hopefully. There was no promise that Chad wouldn’t _actually_ get lost in the woods, but he wouldn’t attempt to do so intentionally. Not again. 

That seemed to be enough to make Ben pull away from the locker with a broken cry, and then he was turning, burrowing himself in Chad’s arms as he cried pathetically against the blond’s chest. 

Unsure of what else to do, Chad just sort of pet Ben’s head, trying not to stare at the prince’s bloody fingers or the ruined locker already tainted with red-brown streaks, the rest of their teammates pulled back in a safe perimeter, watching with wide eyes. Even Coach was there, and Chad was comforted by the fact that he didn’t seem to know what to do either, though perhaps a smart person would have found that worrying. 

“Don’t go, don’t go, don’t go,” Ben was saying between gasps of air. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, _I’m sorry_.”

“…it’s okay, Ben,” Chad said, feeling at a loss. “It’s okay. I’m not leaving and it wasn’t your fault.”

“I’m _sorry_ ,” Ben sobbed again, and Chad realized they weren’t going to practice today. Which was… it was fine, he was fine, because even if he’d been mad at Ben, this was substantially more important. 

Best bros fought, that didn’t mean they couldn’t comfort each other when they were down. 

Coach motioned for the rest of the team to troop out onto the field, giving Ben and Chad the locker room to themselves. 

“Take him to Fairy Godmother’s office when he’s ready,” Coach had said, and Chad nodded, because this was for Ben, and he would do just about anything for him.

Anything at all.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Ben ended up getting detention for willful destruction of school property.

It wasn’t something Fairy Godmother seemed to want to do, but rules were rules, and Ben was not above them. 

Chad stayed by his side the entire time, through Ben getting his hands treated by the nurse to his parents being brought up on video chat and informed of the situation. Ben didn’t seem to want Chad to stray from his sight, which Chad related to on an intimate level. So he didn’t say anything when the other prince followed him back to his dorm room that night, or ended up staying over in Chad’s bed, the brunette clinging to him like a limpet.

“I’m sorry,” Ben croaked into his neck. “I’m sorry for what I said about you and Evie. I’m glad you gave them a chance, I’m glad you’re dating her. I hope she makes you really happy.”

“Aw, Ben.” Chad pet a hand down his back, not expecting the sudden apology. “Thanks, bud. I’m glad we don’t have to fight anymore.”

“Never again, please,” Ben said, even though it was a wildly optimistic dream.

They would always fight, Chad knew.

On the bright side, Chad was also pretty sure they would always make up, so that was something.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Rumor has it you tried to kill yourself,” Mal said bluntly, studying her nails while Chad waited for Evie and Jay to finish ‘primping’ for their date. 

While he had never been confronted with the truth of what he’d done, Chad didn’t startle like he thought he might have, choosing instead to hum in consideration. “Yeah, a couple years ago.”

Mal turned to stare at him, as though not expecting a candid answer. “Why the fuck would a prince want to kill himself?”

Chad shrugged. “Loneliness.” Which didn’t seem like a great reason in hindsight, but at the time it had seemed sort of all-consuming. “I didn’t have anyone to talk to besides my teachers, and it didn’t look like that was going to change.”

“What about your family?” Mal pressed. “Your mom’s dead, but don’t you have a dad and grandpa and shit? Don’t you, I don’t know, be sickeningly sweet with them?”

“Nope,” Chad said, staring at his shoes. They had not changed since he put them on, but you never knew. “They haven’t really spoken to me since my mom died.”

Chad supposed that was what happened when queens died. You just ignored their kid and everything that had to do with them in the hopes that the pain would go away, but it didn’t go away, and it also really hurt the kid. 

Just, in his experience.

“What changed?” Mal asked, fingering the edge of the sketchbook he had gotten her. 

Chad shrugged again. “I didn’t die. And then Ben started being my friend again, so I wasn’t lonely.”

“Ben stopped being your friend?” Mal couldn’t seem to comprehend this. “That… that doesn’t seem possible. He’s all _weird_ about you.”

“He’s just protective,” Chad said. “I think… like, since he was my first friend, he feels obligated to watch out for me.” Because Chad wasn’t that smart, and if anyone knew that, it was Ben. “So he tries really hard but sometimes he tries _too_ hard so we fight.”

“Like the thing with Evie.”

“Exactly,” Chad said, perking up. “He was afraid I would hurt her or that she would hurt me, and he didn’t want either of those things to happen, so he was just a jerk about it instead.”

That made Mal laugh. “What a dipshit,” she marveled. “It’s like you’re his weakness, the thing that makes him act _un_ -Ben like.”

Chad thought back to the way Ben had destroyed his locker, had crumpled it into nothing under the weight of his grief, and shivered. “Man, I hope not,” he said. “Ben’s my friend, I don’t want to make things hard on him.”

“Then you shouldn’t,” Mal advised almost sagely. “Just stick with Jay and Evie. Then you can stay out of his way so he can focus on coronation.”

“That’s a good idea, Mal,” Chad said, grinning. “Thank you.”

Mal offered him one of those amused little smiles of hers. “Don’t mention it, slick.”

Mal was the only one who called him _slick_. Like Chad had any kind of suaveness or smooth moves. He really liked the title, and it always made him feel a little warm any time she used it. He hoped he got to hear her use that nickname a dozen more times, and he _might_ have, but… 

But then Chad asked Evie to coronation.

-:-:-:-:-:-

One of the benefits of having a girlfriend was that Chad didn’t have to wonder who he would take to coronation. He knew who he was taking to coronation, he just had to ask her, because that was the gentlemanly thing to do. Chad was actually sort of excited about it, but then Evie’s answer had been-

“Maybe?” Chad echoed, feeling slightly lost.

Evie smiled at him. “Mm-hm.”

Chad’s heart sank, everything feeling heavy and tight because ‘maybe’ was the fancy way of saying _no_. He wasn’t sure why they had invented another way to say no when ‘no’ itself seemed to be quite practical, but _maybe_ was the word used in castles, the one his nannies used when he asked if he’d see his dad that day or if he could go outside or if he could have a room with windows. ‘ _Maybe_ ’ was how royals said ‘no’, but Chad… he’d thought Evie was happy with him.

He kept his expression perfectly neutral. “Did… did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Evie assured him, and he wasn’t sure if that made him feel better or worse. “I just think we need… different conditions.”

Chad’s breath caught in his throat.

She was breaking up with him. She was _breaking up with him_ and he hadn’t done anything wrong so he couldn’t be a _baby_ about it. People did this, sometimes. Aziz had talked about it. Sometimes it just didn’t work out so you mutually agreed to end things and still be friends and Chad needed to do that now, because that was what good guys did.

So Chad nodded, mustering his best smile and hoping Evie didn’t see the way his hands curled against his sides. “Um… okay. If that’s what you want.”

“It is,” Evie said, her eyes seeming to twinkle, and-

Okay then. At least she’d been honest.

Chad wasn’t sure why he was surprised. Even Ben had ignored him for a couple years, and Ben _liked_ Chad. 

Perhaps he was just one of those guys that was really easy to leave behind. 

The idea made him feel very small.

Chad started avoiding Jay and Evie after that. He knew he should sit down with them, have a conversation like a mature human being because it wasn’t like she had to date him for them to be friends, but in the moment he still really _hurt_ , even if he knew this was a natural part of high school. Guys on the Tourney team broke up with their girlfriends all the time, they even had a tradition for it where they’d sneak into the dorm kitchens and eat so much ice cream they got sick to commiserate with the newly-single individual. 

Chad knew if he brought up Evie’s rejection that they would do the same for him, but part of him was afraid they wouldn’t, that they’d listen to _Ben_ who thought Chad shouldn’t have dated Evie in the first place, and then Chad would have to deal with that pain too. 

So he just kept it to himself, trying to save face. It sort of made him glad that he had never gotten through to his dad or grandfather to tell them about the news of his girlfriend, the information seeming too important to just leave with some secretaries. Guess that worked out after all. 

The school counselor (who he still regularly met with), said it was okay for him to grieve the loss of his relationship so long as he didn’t turn onto self-destructive paths. Which was code for ‘get lost in the woods again’, but Chad assured her he was fine, he was just sad, and he knew the sadness would fade, it just… hadn’t yet. 

He ended up skipping lunch, because Ben and Jane and Doug and Lonnie all sat with Evie and the others, and it wasn’t like Chad could sit with Aziz and James when his supposed girlfriend was just a few tables away, so he went back to his old habits of hiding in the gardens. 

It was there that Mal found him, dejectedly trying to sketch some roses that almost always ended up as a flower crown for a smiling Evie.

“Hey, dipshit,” Mal drawled, plopping down on the bench beside him. “What the fuck are you doing?” Chad opened his mouth to stumble through an answer, but Mal thankfully continued, “And don’t say ‘drawing’, you pleb. I mean why have you been ignoring Evie?”

Chad felt his shoulders slump, and he knew he must make a sorry picture, he just didn’t know how to fix that. “…I know I shouldn’t,” he admitted. “She didn’t do anything wrong, I’m just… sad.”

That did not seem to be the answer Mal was expecting. “You’re sad?”

“Yeah,” Chad sighed. “And I won’t be forever, just- right now, I’m sad.”

“You didn’t think Evie might want to help you feel better?” Mal asked. “Or, I don’t know, just _be_ there for you?”

She probably would, because Evie was actually super sweet, and the thought of it made Chad ache all over again. “Sometimes I want to be sad alone,” he settled on, instead of explaining how exposing his wound to the one that inflicted it, however unintentional, wasn’t something he could handle right now.

There was a distinct pause while Mal considered the gardens around them, the wind brushing through her loose curls. “Fine,” she said eventually. “Just don’t go for any walks in the woods.”

“I’m not _that_ sad,” Chad assured her, his pulse beginning to quicken to an uncomfortable pace. “I’m just-”

“Hey, you don’t have to explain it to me,” Mal assured him, standing up in an easy movement. “I get it. Carlos gets like this too, sometimes.”

“Oh.” Chad hadn’t realized… “Is he okay?”

A tiny grin pulled at the corner of Mal’s lips. “Right now, he is. Thanks for asking.” 

“You’re welcome,” Chad said, managing his own small grin. “If that changes… I don’t know if I can help, but-”

“You focus on you, right now,” Mal said, squaring her shoulders. “And the thought is appreciated, Chad.”

“Thanks, Mal,” Chad whispered, feeling a little better already.

“You’re welcome, slick,” she said, and then with her quota of polite conversation likely met for the day, she turned, leaving Chad to his peaceful solitude. 

In the next picture, Chad tried to capture that almost-smile, and it was comforting to know that he _could_ draw things other than Evie. 

There was hope for him yet.

-:-:-:-:-:-

In all honesty, Chad was not sure what happened. 

Things had been fine – great, even, because they’d won a game and for all that they had a bunch of very talented players on their team, they weren’t always great about like, winning. So that in itself had been pretty excited, and then Ben had hijacked the PA system which was something he never did. At first Chad was worried, because what if it was an emergency, but then Ben just started… singing to Mal.

Singing a song of love.

An _enthusiastic_ song, one he had certainly never offered to Audrey who, as far as Chad knew, Ben was _still dating_. 

It was a worrisome afternoon, was Chad’s point, and even though everyone was cheering he couldn’t help but be caught in the wake of Audrey’s wrecked expression, because she looked just as sad as Chad had felt back when Ben had abandoned him.

“Hey,” Chad said, trying to talk over the cheers of the crowd while he approached Audrey. “Are you okay?”

The princess startled, ending her one-sided staring match with Ben before she grabbed the microphone from whichever PA had been trying to wrangle it from Ben.

“And _I_ will be going to coronation with Chad!” she declared, and then she kissed him, which Chad melted into mostly on reflex.

So. He guessed he had another girlfriend now. 

That… happened very quickly. 

Only Ben didn’t seem to care, because his attention was only on Mal, and Chad could feel Audrey’s hand shaking from where it was digging into his jersey, and everything should be fine but it didn’t feel fine.

Which was something Evie agreed with when she confronted Chad after the fact, the princess pulling Chad under the bleacher while the crowd was dispersing.

“What the _hell_ , Chad?” she pressed, and though her tone was low her words were pointed, her eyes shining with a restrained level of moisture. “You said you weren’t happy, not that you wanted _that_.”

“I…” Chad blinked, feeling dazed and overwhelmed, because so much had happened and being near Evie still made him sad. “I didn’t know I wanted it,” he admitted.

He guessed he did, though. He didn’t really like being alone, and now that Ben had a new girlfriend, he probably wouldn’t have time for Chad either. 

Evie just stared at him with an unreadable expression, her shoulders tensed in a way they never were before she pressed her lips together.

“ _Fine_ ,” she said, turning away with a scowl. “But you just made a huge mistake.”

Chad wasn’t sure how that was true, but it was historically proven that Evie was smarter than him. She was probably right, but Audrey had already made the announcement. Even if Chad was a rebound, he at least had a date to coronation, which was one of the few things that had been expected of him as a prince.

So at least he managed that much. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

One of the downsides of dating Audrey was that Mal hated Chad now and didn’t mind letting him know it. The other transfer students didn’t seem to like him either, because perhaps he was supposed to have a heart-to-heart with Evie cementing their friendship before he moved on, but he’d already messed that up so he guessed that he’d just burned all those bridges.

The _good_ news was that Audrey didn’t sit with the transfer students at lunch anyway, so Chad got to eat in the dining hall with her and Aziz and Malvin’s girlfriend of the week, the Aurorian princess alternating between sadness and clinging to Chad incessantly. That was sort of the majority of their attractions. 

“Come on,” she said, grabbing him up after Tourney practice because she’d been waiting for him and dragging him to her room so she could open up the collar of his shirt and suck a plethora of dark hickies against his neck. His tanned skin became a plain of bruises, and Chad would be embarrassed by the way they extended up over his collar if it didn’t seem to make Audrey so very happy. 

“Do you want me to touch you?” Chad had asked once, but then she’d batted his hands away, pressing him against the bed so she could suck a mark just behind his ear.

“You change with Ben during practice, don’t you?” Audrey asked once, staring at Chad with a thoughtful sort of consideration.

“I um, change with everyone,” Chad said, because she made it sound like he and Ben claimed their own changing stall, which was something they definitely _didn’t_ do. 

Audrey gave a thoughtful hum, then started pulling off Chad’s shirt.

That was how he ended up with a torso full of bruises, his nipples flushed and puffy from where she um- continued to bite them. She even left some marks on the inside of his thighs, just under the edge of his boxer briefs, and Chad had spent a lot of the time she had used giving those to him alternating between embarrassment and excitement, because she had him down to his underwear and it felt _so good_ , and he couldn’t help but respond to her attentions.

“I’m not taking care of that,” she said, dismissing the bulge between his legs, and then she started making a new mark behind his knee. 

Girls were _weird_. 

Chad wasn’t sure what the point of it all was, but it took Ben about two weeks to realize what was going on, which Chad wouldn’t have known for himself if the other prince hadn’t so obviously stopped and stared at him with wide, startled eyes.

“What…” Ben began, stepping forward before he could seem to help it and tracing a hand along the bruises on Chad’s neck. “Did Audrey do this?”

“Yeah,” Chad said, offering Ben a light smile and trying not to shiver from the other prince’s relatively benign contact. “It makes her happy.”

“Does it make _you_ happy?” Ben asked, turning to look at Chad’s back. His cheeks seemed to heat up at the bite marks marring Chad’s lower back.

“Sure,” Chad said. “Thanks for asking.”

“Chad.” Ben’s expression was all worried again. “You shouldn’t do something you don’t want to do.”

“I’m _not_ ,” Chad said, frowning. “But Audrey needs someone right now because you were mean to her, and right now that person is me.”

“That why you stepped up to be her punching bag?” Jay asked, pretending to be disinterested, even though Chad had caught the other teen looking over his bruises several times already.

“I stepped up because I _wanted_ to,” Chad said, tired of these guys questioning his decisions.

Only that might not have been the right thing to say, because it made Jay scowl for some reason, the other teen turning back towards his Tourney locker with an angry movement. 

Chad wasn’t sure why he was mad. It wasn’t like Jay would want to chaperone Chad and Audrey. 

Perhaps… did he miss Chad?

No, definitely not. Jay was far too cool for Chad. The only interactions they ever had were out of pity and nothing else. That was just the way things went.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Mal and Audrey fought a lot, which was to be expected. To be honest, Chad thought Audrey’s anger should lie more with Ben than Mal, because he was the one that had dumped her so abruptly, but the one time he’d brought that up Audrey hadn’t spoken to him for two days, so he didn’t mention it again. 

They sniped at each other in the hallways. They gave each other compliments with painful looking smiles that didn’t seem all that complementary. 

Chad spent a lot of time during their interactions standing by Ben, who seemed to be trying and failing not to stare at Chad’s neck. 

“Have you thought about apologizing to Audrey?” Chad asked when it seemed like the other two were close to pulling out each other’s very pretty hair. 

Ben blinked out of his stupor, a light blush dusting his cheeks. “I um… tried, but she threw a cup at me.”

“Yeah,” Chad sighed. “She does that.”

She liked to throw stuff at Chad too, but Chad recognized (with the help of the school counselor) that this was mostly because Audrey hadn’t been given a proper outlet for her anger as a princess, which led to her trying to express herself in less-helpful ways. Unlike Chad, Audrey had a fair amount of _expectations_ she had to live up to, and _expectations_ could be stifling.

It was why he always tried to do his best to be helpful, because her life was hard enough as it was. 

“He’s never going to make you queen,” Audrey hissed during one of their confrontations, and luckily this was out in the gardens, where no one else could hear.

“ _Audrey_ ,” Chad reprimanded lightly, hating the way both of them tensed up. “If Ben wants to make her queen, he will. That doesn’t mean you wouldn’t have been a good one, or that Mal will be a bad one.” She shot him a fierce glare, her lower lip trembling, and he rushed to explain himself. “You both have your own strengths, is all.”

“You’re siding with _her_?” Audrey snapped, sounding horribly wounded.

“I’m not siding with anyone,” Chad urged. “I’m just stating the facts-”

“I don’t need your help, dipshit,” Mal snarled, shrugging off the hand Ben placed on her shoulder. “Why the fuck would you give it anyway?”

“Um… ‘cuz I still think Audrey should be mad at Ben, not you,” Chad explained, watching as the other prince startled at the comment. “Since he was the one who was a giant jerk to her.”

“What the fuck did he do?” Mal asked, folding her arms across her chest. “He just sang a song.”

“Right.” Chad nodded. “He didn’t even break up with Audrey, he just did this huge song and dance for you, which he’d never done for her.” Chad turned his attention back to Ben. “It was mean. And rude.”

“Where the fuck do you get off talking about _rudeness_?” Mal snapped. “After what you did to Evie.”

Chad still didn’t know what he’d done to Evie aside from try and move on. That didn’t seem like a crime.

“He knew an upgrade when he saw one,” Audrey sniffed, tossing her curls with a haughty look. “He needs someone who can do more than a few parlor tricks and scribble some pictures.”

Mal’s teeth pulled back with a snarl. “Better that than some stuck up _brat_ whose only redeeming quality is the collection of obscure and useless knowledge.”

“It is not _useless_ ,” Audrey snapped, her shoulders tensing.

“Guys,” Chad tried to interrupt, his brows furrowed. “It wasn’t… Evie didn’t do anything wrong-”

“ _Save it, Chad!_ ” Mal spat, and then she was stomping away, Ben following after her with a helpless look. 

Audrey just stood there for a moment seething, her hands curling and uncurling into fists against her sides. “You’re too nice for this world, Chad,” she said quietly, after a long pause. “It’s going to eat you up and spit you out one day.”

“Probably,” Chad agreed, because he had learned not to contradict Audrey even when he disagreed. He wasn’t _that_ nice, obviously, or more people would like him. 

But they didn’t, even after all these years they seemed scared of him, scared to mess with him, and Chad could only be so charming and pretend everything was okay.

At least now he had Audrey.

The princess sighed. “Come on,” she said, her small fingers circling his wrist. “I need to re-mark your torso.”

“Yes, Audrey,” Chad said, and then like the good prince he was, he followed her. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

Coronation was exciting for a number of reasons.

The most prominent being the literal dragon that attacked them.

The second most pressing was specific to Chad alone and wouldn’t be discovered until later, when he’d recovered the bug he had placed in Ben’s carriage. In short, Chad felt sort of awful for violating Ben’s privacy like this, but things had been _weird_. It was weird that Ben was so suddenly attracted to Mal. It was weird that he hadn’t broken up with Audrey. It was weird that it had taken him a few weeks to realize that Audrey and Chad were dating, and even then, he didn’t seem jealous or uneasy, which might be a sign of his maturity but Ben was only human. He _should_ have been surprised by that. Like, a little.

It left Chad with a multitude of questions and not enough answers, so in a fit of desperation, he bugged Ben’s carriage. 

At most, he’d expected to have a recording of Ben being Ben, which in itself would have been good enough, but then Mal had started talking and…

A love potion.

It made perfect sense. No one would have suspected it because no one used magic, but Mal like, _was_ magic, at least partially. Of course that was her go-to move. Chad wasn’t great at reading social cues (as seen by his relationship with Evie), so he supposed all the times Mal had griped and prodded at Ben might have been her like, flirting? Perhaps that was how Isle people flirted, Chad didn’t know. Evie had always been really straightforward, but Evie and Mal were different people. Obviously, Mal had needed a competitive edge to win Ben over, and instead of like, being honest about her feelings, she had taken over his free will.

Which was not great, but for whatever reason, Ben wasn’t mad.

It was almost like… like that was where he wanted to be, only instead of saying this to Audrey, he’d just not complained about getting love potioned, and the whole entire thing seemed so very odd that it made Chad’s chest hurt. 

It felt like he should do something with this information, because Mal’s actions had definitely been a crime no matter how okay with them Ben was, but if _Ben_ wasn’t mad…

So Chad committed to what he usually did when he was feeling lost and turned to Ben, hoping that some guidance could be provided for the situation. 

“Hey, your um, majesty,” Chad greeted, offering Ben an exaggerated bow that made the _king_ laugh. “So uh… that was some coronation, huh?”

It was easy to fall in step with Ben as they walked through the gardens Ben’s mom had insisted on adding to Auradon Prep, the gardens that had provided so much protection for Chad in the past.

Ben trailed off with a few chuckles. “Yeah, it really was crazy, wasn’t it?”

“At least it started off calm,” Chad hummed, trying to be _suave_ and _casual_. “Like… your carriage ride, that must have been nice.”

Ben’s gaze sort of drifted to the distance as he got lost in the memory, a small grin tugging at his lips. “Yeah, it was.”

“Did… did anything happen during that?” Chad asked carefully. “Did you guys… _discuss_ anything important?”

Chad was determined to keep his gaze forward, so he only caught Ben’s tension from the corner of his eyes. It was a sudden thing, unmistakable to anyone looking, and Chad could feel his pulse begin to speed in anticipation because that was _it_. Ben was going to talk and Chad would get some answers-

“We’re too young to think about marriage, Chad,” Ben laughed, though even to Chad’s ears, it sounded a little forced. “I’m going to date Mal for a little longer to see where things take us but… well, I think I’ll make her my Lady of the Court.”

For whatever reason, that seemed to bring Chad’s world to an abrupt and harsh stop. “But… but you haven’t been dating that long.”

Ben didn’t seem to notice Chad’s concern. “I know, but I think we’re a good fit,” he declared. “We can do a lot of great things together.”

“You could have done a lot of good things with Audrey,” Chad pointed out before he could help it, because he mostly wanted to ask if Ben had been love potioned again, ask what Chad had done wrong, because obviously Ben didn’t think he was worthy of knowing the truth. 

Ben paused, allowing a concerned look to slip onto his face. “Chad, did Audrey put you up to this?”

“No,” Chad confirmed quickly, not wanting any miscommunications. “It’s just- I’m trying to understand, is all. I know Mal is great-” 

“She doesn’t like you because you hurt Evie, Chad,” Ben interrupted evenly, blaming _Chad_ when Chad didn’t even know what he’d done wrong in the first place. “She likes _me_ just fine.”

“Well… that’s good,” Chad settled on, feeling so staggeringly hurt that he didn’t know how to articulate it, or if he did, if Ben would even care. “I’m glad then, since she’s going to be your Lady of the Court.”

Ben let out a small sigh, because he recognized that he’d gone too far again. He was the king of realizing that after the fact, a fat load of good it did him. “Chad…”

“I’ll just get out of your hair,” Chad said, retreating back to the girlfriend that didn’t really like him, but at least she wanted him around, and that was _something_. 

Chad had certainly worked with less.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone for the feedback!! It really is greatly appreciated. Like, I can’t say how much I enjoy and look forward to your comments, so thank you to everyone who takes the time leave a little somethin’ ^_^
> 
> Story notes:
> 
> I realize it is superbly unlikely for Chad to get through the entirety of his life without learning the real meaning of the word maybe, but just play along with me for this one – it got us some good angst. Also, do you know how hard it is to write a story without using the word ‘maybe’? For me, it was quite difficult. Let’s never do it again, lol.
> 
> I don’t really remember how the timing worked out, if Maleficent went all dragon after she had frozen everyone, but we’re going to pretend everyone was aware of that development, frozen or not. 
> 
> Until next time :)


	7. The Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GENERAL WARNING – Dubious consent in the first scene. See endnotes for more details.

“Alright, sweetheart,” Audrey cooed as she tugged Chad up the stairs to her parent’s private house in Auradon City. “Are you ready?”

Chad wasn’t used to this version of Audrey, who seemed sugary and sweet and sort of freaked him out a bit, but at least he understood where she was coming from. It was a special day for Chad, and as such, she was making an effort to be nice to him, which actually sort of validated his place in his relationship with her. 

“Y-Yes, Audrey,” Chad said, his voice barely above a whisper because for all that he was ready, he was also nervous. “Can I um… get to know what we’re doing now?”

“And ruin the surprise?” Audrey asked, her eyes wide as she looked over her shoulder.

“Sorry,” Chad said, ducking his head. He didn’t want to spoil Audrey’s surprise for his birthday. He’d never gotten a birthday surprise before, it was just- this whole thing seemed a little worrisome, especially with the stuff she’d told him to do beforehand.

Audrey just giggled at him. “Don’t worry, Chad. It’s okay to be nervous. Just know that this is going to be a great present.”

“I trust you,” Chad said – he didn’t want her to think otherwise. He’d just- he’d never been alone with a pretty girl in a big empty house before. Even with Evie, Jay had always been there to chaperone. 

But now it was just him and Audrey, because Audrey’s parents only used this house for council meetings and important festivals and when they were visiting Audrey at school. The house remained empty the rest of the time, and was occasionally maintained by a cleaning service, but aside from that it was a ghost town, and Chad hadn’t felt it more than in that moment. 

“Come on,” Audrey said, and then Chad got even more nervous because Audrey was tugging him into a bedroom – _her_ bedroom, all pink and blue and accented in gold. “Sit on the bed, Chad.”

“O-Okay.” Chad thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest, because this was _it_ , he thought, or perhaps it wasn’t. Perhaps Audrey just wanted to cuddle, though he wasn’t sure why she’d ask him not to wear underwear if they were going to do just that. 

Chad sat, but Audrey remained standing, cupping his cheek carefully. “We’re boyfriend and girlfriend now,” she told him, a fact she liked to reiterate sometimes when she was feeling a little shaky. “And I want to give you a nice present for your birthday. But to do that, I need you to do everything I say and not ask any questions. Can you do that?”

Chad considered his options, though he didn’t really have any. She’d asked if he could do a _very simple thing_ , a thing that only a really dumb person would have missed, and Chad didn’t want to blow his second shot at having a girlfriend by revealing that he had even less to offer Audrey than she’d initially thought.

“I can do that,” Chad said, letting his hands curl into the fabric of his pants. 

“Great.” Audrey smiled, perking up. “We’re going to start now, okay?”

“Okay.” So far so good.

Audrey stepped away from him, then slowly walked over to a loveseat that was posed next to the bed, setting herself down on that. “First, I need you to take off all your clothes.”

Chad opened his mouth to- he wasn’t sure, perhaps ask for clarification, but she interrupted him. “No questions, remember?” she said. “And no talking either, if you can help it.”

Chad closed his mouth, then slowly nodded. Okay, he could do this. He undressed for Tourney all the time. 

Like, he usually had underwear during that, and he’d never been completely _naked_ , but-

Well, Evie and Jay had said he had a pretty dick, so… perhaps Audrey would think that too?

Even with the attempted pep talks, Chad couldn’t help but feel awkward as he stepped out of his clothes, leaving them in a neat pile by the bed. He took comfort in the organization, but still, when he got down to his pants he hesitated, because Audrey was just… waiting. 

He took off his pants and shivered at the cool feel of air conditioning, looking over to Audrey in what he hoped wasn’t a terribly needy way. 

The princess’s face hadn’t changed from her small smile. “Now get on the bed,” she said. “Hands and knees, facing the headboard.”

As awkward as he’d felt standing there, he felt even more exposed on his hands and knees, his back to the majority of the room. He felt kind of dumb, but he trusted Audrey. He wondered if she’d done this kind of stuff with Ben before.

The thought made him warm.

“Now,” she continued. “Lower your chest to the mattress. Just your chest.” 

Okay, so that was- that was worse, because now Chad felt _really_ stupid, his butt sticking in the air while his face was pressed against her comforter. He felt an embarrassed flush spill across his cheeks. 

“Good boy,” Audrey chirped, digging into her purse. She tossed a small tube onto the bed beside him. “Now coat your fingers in this, and stretch yourself.”

Chad paused reaching for the tube, shooting Audrey a questioning look. Stretch _what_?

The princess rolled her eyes. “Your asshole, Chad.”

That made Chad flush all the way down to his toes. She wanted him to- to stick his fingers in his _butt_? He knew he’d liked it when Jay would grind against him, but that didn’t mean- that was-

Audrey gave him a calculating look. “You’ve never done that before?”

Chad shook his head, embarrassed.

And yet, she laughed. “That makes this even better. Go ahead, give it your best shot. You’ll have to work slowly, I think. Get all four fingers in.”

_Four_? She wanted- that was so _much_. But Chad had already agreed to her rules and she said this would be a nice surprise, so he tried to be brave, as was expected of him. He fumbled with the tube and squirted a bunch of clear stuff onto his fingers, coating them carefully before reaching behind himself, tracing the inner curve of his cheeks. 

He flinched when he made contact with that ring of muscle, because it was _weird_ , but he tried to follow Audrey’s plan, doing his best to wiggle one finger in. She said to go slow.

At first, he just felt stupid. He probably looked stupid too. It was weird and not exciting and he wasn’t sure what he had been expecting but it wasn’t this, at least until he hit a certain spot and then he was gasping because that had um- felt good.

He tried to find the spot again, sliding against it with a slow drag, and found himself moaning against Audrey’s blanket. 

“You like this?” Audrey asked, her tone unreadable, but Chad just nodded, trying to move his finger faster. Jay had said, back then, that you didn’t need a lot, you just had to use it well. This seemed like that.

By the time Chad had worked two fingers into himself, he was definitely hard and ready to apply another layer of lubricant so he could ease a third finger in. _Wow_ , he hadn’t known people did this. Had Ben done this? 

It was a hot image, Ben pressed against Audrey’s blankets, his butt in the air as he stretched himself wide. It made Chad ache with how good it looked.

“A- _Audrey_ ,” Chad gasped when he got his pinky in. The call was unintentional, but he couldn’t help it when he felt this hazy, worked up and full and _weird_.

“Huh,” Audrey said, standing up to move behind him, getting a better view. “Perfect timing, sweetheart. You keep doing that and I’m gonna get ready.”

“O-Okay,” Chad breathed, letting his eyes fall closed as he focused on his movements. This was so strange, but nice. Not nicer than dinner at Fairy Godmother’s, but still very nice. 

He didn’t register Audrey’s return until she was slipping something around his neck. She clicked it shut, so it must not be a belt, and when Chad shifted, he felt the cool metal of a dog tag against his chin. 

“To set the scene,” she told him, and she was- _wow_ , Audrey was wearing a full lingerie set – all in pale pink and very pretty. An intricate bra trimmed in lace with patching panties, a lacey garter belt holding up sheer, thigh high stockings. She was wearing heels too, and she had this belt strapped around her waist that had some kind of plastic, cucumber-like protrusion sticking off of it. That was done in blue, a stark contrast to everything else, and Chad couldn’t take his eyes off of it.

At least until Audrey was brushing her fingers through his hair, and he realized she was putting some kind of headband on him.

“You’re my good boy,” she explained, stroking his cheek. “I got you a collar so you wouldn’t forget. Now, you can stop stretching and go back onto your hands and knees.”

Chad whined, but did as he was told, feeling flushed and very, very hot. When he looked over in the mirror, he was surprised by the image he presented, all wet and needy, but then his gaze was pulled to the headband. It had dog ears attached to it. He looked like a dog.

No, a _good boy_. There was a difference. 

“One last thing,” Audrey said, reaching towards his chest with _something_ -

Chad gasped at the tight _pinch_ against his nipple, and then it happened to the other one, leaving a steady pressure that made him feel uneasy with its goodness. 

“Nipple clamps,” she explained as she pulled away, grabbing up the tube and slathering the plastic cucumber thing until it was shining. 

Chad didn’t know what it was for until she settled behind him on the bed, braced on her knees, and then she was angling the thing between his cheeks, pressing forward until she prodded against his slick entrance, and-

“ _Audrey_ ,” Chad groaned, because that thing was- she was pushing it inside and it felt so big it hurt a little, but Audrey was relentless, urging it in with tiny thrusts that soon had Chad moaning. “A-Audrey-”

“Quiet,” she tutted, making his mouth snap shut. “If you’re a good boy, I’m going to fuck you senseless, okay? You’re going to stay like this, eager and waiting, until you come all over yourself.”

She was- oh _wow_. Jay had talked about this like, _once_. He’d said how guys had sex together, or like, what one of the options was. Chad hadn’t realized straight couples could do that too, but Audrey was just urging that thing in and out of him, and then she hit that _spot_ -

“There,” Chad gasped, unable to help himself. “ _There_ , Audrey – _please_.”

“Since you asked so nicely,” she said, her hands curling around his hips.

She hit the spot again and Chad was lost, because this was so much more than his fingers, so much firmer and the angle was better and it felt _good_. 

Chad couldn’t help but make sounds. And he knew he couldn’t talk so he tried to quiet himself, but each shift had him mewling and swallowing different noises, more gasps, tiny ‘ah-ah- _ahs_ ’ that had him biting at his lips. He didn’t know how much longer he was going to last, but it felt so _good_ -

“Hey, Ben,” Audrey said, her voice nice and casual as she buried herself completely in Chad- and Chad flinched, forcing his eyes open in hopes that she was joking-

But Ben was standing there, in the doorway. He was standing there watching, seemingly struck still at the sight of them, his cheeks dusted with embarrassment. 

Even worse, Mal was standing right beside him, her expression unreadable.

“Thought I’d do something special for Chad’s birthday,” Audrey continued conversationally, pulling out of him with an exaggerated slowness that made his fingers curl into the sheets. “Did you know he’s never had anal sex before? This is his first time.”

“What do you want, Audrey?” Mal asked, her voice hard. “Why did you invite us here?”

Audrey had- she’d invited-

“I wanted to see if Benny-boo would help with my boyfriend’s birthday,” Audrey said, easing back into Chad just as slow. “Since they’re such good friends. A birthday’s a good reason to _indulge_ , don’t you think?”

She waited until she had the thing completely inside Chad before doing _something_ , and then she was stepping away, the thing detached from her belt and buried deep inside Chad. 

She gave him a supportive smile. “Why don’t you go ahead and stretch out on your back, baby? I’m sure your arms are tired.”

Chad felt unsure, but he nodded, moving to follow her orders. They were difficult, because the thing kept _brushing_ against him, making him shiver, but eventually he did it. 

He’d thought the old position was bad but this one um- didn’t hide how affected he was. It left on display how worked up he was, and the shiny patch of skin that was growing on his stomach from where he couldn’t stop leaking. He could see the nipple clamps now, pink, and he yearned to pull them off.

“So,” Audrey began, folding her arms across her chest. “Are you gonna help, or watch?” She turned her attention to Mal. “It’s okay if Ben helps, right? What’s a few handjobs between friends?”

“Audrey…” Ben said, his tone unreadable.

But Audrey’s focus was on Mal, who narrowed her eyes into a glare. “Sure,” she drawled. “Who am I to hold Benny back? I wouldn’t be that _controlling_ or _manipulative_.”

“Guys,” Ben said, put upon, like they were having a different conversation.

Audrey rolled her eyes. “You’ve been given the all-clear, Ben. Just get in there. It’s Chad’s birthday, remember?”

Ben hesitated. “I-”

“Sweet evil,” Mal hissed, and then she strode towards the bed in bold movements, plopping herself down on the edge. She considered Chad’s body with a casual interest, though Chad didn’t feel as uneasy with her as he did the others. Mal had already seen his private spots, it wasn’t anything new to her. So he didn’t mind so much when she reached forward, wrapping the thin chain that connected the nipple clamps together around her finger a few times before giving it a light _tug_.

Chad moaned, his chest arching into the contact. Fuck, _fuck_ , that had felt both good and bad. 

“Do you want them off?” Mal asked, her tone bored.

“Mal…” Ben said, drawing closer to the bed.

The purple haired teen rolled her eyes. “Just take them off, Ben,” she ordered, making the prince trade spots with her.

And then it was just Chad and Ben.

They hadn’t kissed in a while, and they hadn’t done anything like _this_ ever, so Chad was understandably worried about his responses. It was hard to control himself around Ben, who was so good and yet who Chad seemed to keep failing. 

“Okay…” Ben whispered, his long fingers moving forward carefully to undo the clamps. “I’m just gonna-”

Chad hissed at the sudden change of blood flow, his nipples feeling abused and puffy. Ben stroked his fingers against them as a sort of apology and Chad whined, because Ben’s hands on him felt so _good_ , it went right between his legs. 

“Just like that,” Audrey soothed, and when Chad looked over, she and Mal were settling in on the loveseat. “Perhaps you should kiss them better, Benny-boo.”

“A-Audrey.” Ben flushed, though his gaze was stuck on Chad’s chest.

“Please?” Chad asked, his voice small. “P-Please, Ben?”

The prince relented, and Chad felt breathless as Ben’s lips grazed his pectorals, one hand brushing down Chad’s side while Ben was so very careful-

He licked, and Chad did not gasp so much as stop breathing, because Ben was licking his chest, urging feeling back into the abused nubs before taking them between his teeth and _sucking_ -

“Ben, Ben- _please-_ ” Chad moaned, unsure of what he was asking for. “P-Please just- _please-_ ”

“I’ve got you,” Ben said, his gaze locked on Chad’s. And it was predatory, filled with an all-consuming lust that left Chad shaking. Ben’s hand traced Chad’s outer thigh before he urged the blond’s knee up, and then he was reaching under Chad to-

“ _Ben!_ ” Chad couldn’t help but latch onto the other prince, but Ben seemed to have expected it, his lips buried against Chad’s shoulder as he pumped the plastic rod Audrey had left in Chad in and out of him with renewed vigor. “Ben, Ben, _Ben-_ ”

“Just like that,” Ben growled, licking Chad’s neck. “Just like that, Chad. Keep saying my name.”

“Feel so good, need you- please _Ben,_ ” Chad moaned, the words coming in an incoherent rush. “Ben, I-”

“Gonna fuck you so good,” Ben hissed, biting onto Chad’s shoulder and sucking a dark mark against his skin, growling all the while.

Chad shuddered helplessly in his hold. “G-Gonna come,” he breathed. “Kiss me? Please, will you-”

Ben captured his lips just as he shoved the thing against that certain spot and Chad lost it, lost himself, _mewling_ into Ben’s mouth as he fell to messy pieces. He could feel himself clench around the tool as the aftershocks rocked through him, but he was more possessed by the feel of Ben’s fingers brushing _down there_ , Ben’s lips, his heat-

Ben pulled the tool out of Chad and tossed it aside, letting his hand settle between Chad’s legs instead to milk him for all he was worth. Chad cried into his mouth the entire time but Ben didn’t seem to mind, licking and biting and taking everything Chad had to offer, until they had slowed down to lazy, overwhelmed kisses. 

Ben didn’t stop when Chad was finished, choosing to markup Chad’s neck while his fingers played in the mess on his stomach. Chad wanted to reach forward, wanted to cup between Ben’s legs and see what it felt like, but he was afraid to. Afraid to break whatever special birthday spell had given this back to him. 

The thought had Chad looking over to check on Audrey, because she was the one that had arranged this, and he was um- startled to see that she had climbed into Mal’s lap and the two girls were making out almost viciously, their hair wild, nails digging into each other. Mal had a hand down Audrey’s panties-

_Whoa_. Okay, so… yeah, that seemed fair. 

Chad politely averted his gaze, choosing to focus on Ben instead. He didn’t know when the prince would be gone from him and he wanted to savor it.

“Hey um… Ben?” Chad began cautiously, getting a rumble from the other prince. That seemed close enough to an affirmative for Chad. “Could I um… give you a blowjob?”

That made Ben perk up, his expression even more wrecked than it had been earlier. “…what?”

“Just lie down on the bed and I’ll…”

It felt good, to get Ben under him. Felt amazing to open up his pants and see how hard he was. Chad had done this a few times with Jay, but Ben was different and the feeling of pleasuring him was a heady thing, especially when he tasted so good and _Chad_ was the one earning all those responses from him. 

He swallowed Ben when he was done, the other prince’s fingers tangled in Chad’s curls, and with that, he sort of collapsed next to Ben, nuzzling his thigh. 

At that point, the girls seemed to be done, both slumped back against the loveseat with dazed expressions. 

“So um…” Chad began, wrapping an arm around Ben’s waist. “Happy birthday to me?”

“Yeah, Chad,” Ben said quietly, his fingers petting small circles in Chad’s hair. “Happy birthday to you.”

-:-:-:-:-:-

“We should talk about what happened,” Ben said sometime later, his hand still massaging lazy patterns through Chad’s hair.

“Why?” Audrey asked from her position sprawled across the loveseat, the only point of contact between her and Mal being where their thighs were pressed together. “We all enjoyed that. This doesn’t have to be a big deal if we don’t make it one.”

“But it _is_ a big deal,” Ben insisted, and Chad wondered if he should be panicking, because Ben’s parents had sent him away just for kissing their son, how would they feel about Chad giving him a blowjob?

Well, he did have a girlfriend. Both of them did. That probably helped. 

“I’m with Audrey for once,” Mal drawled, sounding almost bored. “We wanted to fuck each other so we fucked each other. Don’t pretend you didn’t enjoy having Chad’s mouth on your dick.”

“That’s not fair,” Chad said, his head resting safely in Ben’s lap. “Blowjobs always feel good, it didn’t have to be me specifically for him to like it.”

“We will cross that bridge another day,” Mal said, staring at the ceiling. “Look, this doesn’t have to be a problem. We leave here and I’m still dating Ben and Audrey’s still dating Chad. As long as we’re sure on _that_ , everything else is fair game.”

“You mean…” Chad perked up. “Could I kiss Ben again?”

He turned his attention to Audrey, because she was the one that mattered.

The princess considered him for a moment, then tossed her hair dismissively. “Sure,” she said, sliding off of the couch. Chad’s pulse picked up as she slid onto the bed beside him, letting her hand trace down his naked side. “So long as Ben knows that if he wants a piece of this _-_ ” She let her hand trail upwards, settling on Chad’s abused nipple and giving it a tweak that made him shudder. “-he has to come to me. Unless…” She trailed off, pressing Chad back against the bed so that he was splayed out. “-I don’t feel like sharing. You’re such a _good boy_ , Chad.” She carded her fingers through Chad’s curls, much like Ben had done earlier. “You’d be happy to take my dick again, wouldn’t you? I can get an even bigger one, too, one that would really tear you apart.”

“A-Audrey,” Chad whined, shifting uncomfortably.

“I could fuck you with it and if I’m feeling generous, I could let Ben shove his dick in your mouth. Would you like that?”

Chad nodded, hopelessly, desperately, and didn’t miss Ben’s sharp inhale.

“ _Audrey_ ,” Ben said, and it sounded like a warning.

“Or perhaps I’ll let Ben just give you something _nice_ ,” Audrey said, letting her fingers trace the dried slick flaking on Chad’s stomach. “While me and Mal take a bath. Mal?”

The purple-haired teen rolled her eyes, but slid to her feet. “Sure. Whatever.”

“Great,” Audrey clipped, nudging Chad towards Ben. “Lube’s on the nightstand, Ben. Have fun exploring carnal relations. Or not. Be a gentleman and leave your _best bro_ hanging.”

“Audrey-” Ben tried to reach out to her, but she side-stepped his hand.

“This is a gift,” she told him, not looking over her shoulder as she swayed into the bathroom. Mal waited a second, and then she followed after her, hands tense against her sides.

Ben hung his head with a weary sigh. “ _Fuck_.”

“Hey.” Chad propped himself up on his elbows. “It’s okay, they gave us a free pass.”

Ben gave him a wounded look. “Chad-”

“And as long as no one else finds out, they can’t stop us from being friends again,” Chad continued. “So… could I kiss you? Or I could give you another blowjob-”

Between one moment and the next, Chad found himself pressed against the pillows, Ben looming over him.

“I think it’s my turn to get a _taste_ ,” the king said, his voice a low rumble, and then he was crawling down Chad’s body, doting it with licks and sucks until he could finally take Chad’s length into his mouth in slow, torturous increments.

Chad didn’t mind though, because he was lost in the feel of Ben, who he never thought he’d be able to get but suddenly did, and he wasn’t going to waste a single moment overthinking it. Not now, not when they’d come this far.

Later, he might freak out.

But in that moment, it was just Chad and Ben, the way they never really could be. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

They started something, after that.

Chad didn’t really know what it _was_ , and he was uncomfortable with that lack of definition, but it involved Ben more significantly in his life than the other prince had been before, and Chad liked that. 

It wasn’t really a friendship, exactly. Audrey and Mal still didn’t seem to like each other that much, but they still had study sessions together while Audrey quizzed Mal on all the stuff she needed to know to be Ben’s Lady of the Court. This process involved a lot of heckling from both sides, Mal alternating between calling the traditions stupid and perfecting them to make Audrey’s brow twitch, and Audrey alternating between lording her knowledge over Mal and tiny, almost imperceptible smiles when the purple-haired teen got things right. 

The only bright side to this was that Ben seemed just as confused as Chad was by the development, and he didn’t know if he should intervene either, so they both just sort of let their respective girlfriends dive into their aggressive not-friendship while Chad and Ben got to hang out all over again. 

Turned out, being king was super hard, which Chad knew on a theoretical level, but seeing the toll it took on Ben was always rough. It left Chad wanting to care for him, and now that they’d crossed that invisible boundary, Chad decided he could. So if he wanted to cuddle Ben after a long day, he did. And if he wanted to give the king head rubs to help with his tension headache, he would. 

There was one time the three of them ganged up on Ben and shoved him into a bubble bath, Audrey griping about how she would take care of his paperwork and Mal strolling in to watch over her to ensure she was making _‘Isle friendly_ ’ decisions. It left Chad to focus on Ben, which meant he could wash his hair carefully or feed him the strawberries Mal always seemed to have on hand or, when he was feeling more wicked, sneak a hand between Ben’s legs and work him over until he was a panting, flushed mess. 

Chad liked doing the last one the most. 

They weren’t friends (the four of them; Chad and Ben were obviously friends), but they did double date a lot. Mal seemed to have almost gotten over her hatred for Chad after Evie had dumped him (Evie had said he hadn’t done anything wrong but that felt like a lie since Mal seemed so annoyed), but she still seemed more drawn towards Audrey, though both of them pretended that wasn’t the case. 

It must be one of those weird girl things Aziz talked about. 

Double dates were… fun, but it was what happened after the dates that Chad liked the most, because they just about always retreated to the house Audrey’s parents kept, where things progressed into something of a more sexual in nature.

Chad wasn’t sure when the decision had been made, but for these moments it was almost always him and Ben together while Mal and Audrey did their own thing. At first Ben had seemed worried about that, but Mal always dismissed his concerns before grabbing Audrey’s hand and dragging her into a different room, and then Chad would nose hopefully at his neck because he liked the feel of Ben against him, he always had, and then Ben would cave like a giant house of cards. 

The first time Ben fucked Chad was one of the best nights of his life. He felt connected to Ben in a way they’d never had before, and he loved the way Ben had showered him with praises, telling Chad how good he felt, how lovely he looked. Once again, Chad had upgraded to _pretty_ , which was something he held onto in his darker moments, when he was worried Audrey might break up with him or that Ben and Mal would decide they were boring and take their double dating elsewhere. 

It was a muted concern, one he wasn’t sure how to address, because he didn’t know what this _was_.

So he turned to the one person who had always been a beacon of wisdom for him and flagged down Aziz on the archery field, the other prince watching Malvin try and perfect his long-distance shots for the Auradon Olympics the following year.

“Chadwick,” Aziz greeted with a smirk, pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose as he looked up from his phone. “Looking for advice?”

“Sorry,” Chad said, because he didn’t _like_ burdening Aziz with his problems, he just didn’t really know where else to turn for an outside perspective.

“Don’t worry about it!” Malvin called over from his position at the shooting line. “He lives for your gossip. Go ahead and dish it to him. And speak up, would you?”

“Incorrigible,” Aziz grumbled, but he tucked his phone away, giving Chad his full attention. “But he was right about it not being a problem. What can I help you with?”

“I’m not sure,” Chad admitted, getting a concerned look from the other prince. “…have you ever double dated before?”

“A few times,” Aziz admitted. “It can be kind of fun.”

“Yeah,” Chad agreed, because it was kind of fun. “Have you ever… when you were double dating, like- did things ever progress to um… you know, _intimate_ times?”

There was a startled squawk from Malvin, and then Chad got to watch in wonder as the prince of DunBroch missed his target completely, making his sister – Marsaili – laugh at him from her position _way_ down the archery range. 

“Alrighty, then,” Malvin said, abandoning his gear to come lean beside Aziz. “Say that again?”

“Um…” Based on Malvin’s reaction, Chad was beginning to think that wasn’t a thing couples did together. “I was wondering if um… you know, when you double dated, if you ever like, kissed the other couple. And if you did, how did you make sure you kept getting to do that?”

Malvin and Aziz stared at him for a moment, both of their expressions unreadable.

“…in this theoretical situation,” Aziz spoke up. “Would um… _everyone_ know about this kissing?”

“Oh yeah,” Chad dismissed with a wave of his hand. “Everyone knows and is cool with it. Just – how do you keep them cool with it? Like, what if they decide it’s a novelty and move on ‘cuz they’re bored?”

And then they leave again and granted, Chad shouldn’t be greedy because he had Audrey and Audrey was pretty great, but he was starting to think she liked hanging out with Mal too, and Chad didn’t want her to lose that.

“ _If_ , theoretically, one of the couples is Mal and Ben,” Aziz began slowly. “And the other couple is you and Audrey, um… I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“Really?” Aziz hadn’t even hesitated, which made Chad inclined to think he was right. “You think so?”

“Trust me,” Aziz said while Malvin watched with wide eyes. “Audrey and Mal are both strong-willed individuals. If they were allowing for something like this to happen, then they want it, so just…”

“Enjoy it?” Malvin said. “And _do not_ look into things.”

“Please,” Aziz said. At Chad’s questioning look, he added, “There’s no need to cause unnecessary drama.”

“Absolutely not,” Malvin agreed. “Better in the long run for you four to um- keep getting freaky without delving too deeply into the why of things.”

“…yeah?” Chad would have thought this was something that needed a lot of consideration, but if Malvin seemed that certain, then perhaps Chad should stop worrying so much. “Thanks, guys. That’s a big weight off my mind. And um… you won’t tell anyone about this, right?”

“Definitely not,” Malvin pledged, using his finger to trace an X over his heart. “Well… I might tell James.”

“You won’t tell James _shit_ ,” Aziz hissed, grabbing Malvin in a headlock and giving him a noogie. “He’s an even bigger gossip than you are.”

“Fine- _fine_ , just stop ruining my hair before Marsaili storms over here to get in on the action.”

“You’d deserve it,” Aziz muttered, but he still released the DunBroch prince with a sigh, turning his attention back to Chad. “Long story short – we won’t tell anyone.”

“Neato,” Chad said, feeling substantial better. “Okay, I’ll get out of your hair now. I’ve um… got another double date soon.”

“Don’t forget to use protection!” Malvin offered, earning an elbow to his stomach for his troubles, along with Aziz’s frantic shushings.

“Um… okay!” Chad called, then started back towards central campus, wondering what that meant. 

Malvin could be so weird sometimes. It wasn’t like you needed safety padding for _sex_.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“I don’t know about this,” Mal said, eying her horse warily.

“That’s fair,” Chad replied, giving her horse a few careful pets on the muzzle. “But Ben’s a good teacher, if you want to learn to ride. He taught me.”

“I thought you royal people had teachers for that shit,” Mal said, still not touching her horse, though she did take a tentative step forward.

“My dad is… very protective of me,” Chad settled on. “He didn’t want me to get hurt so I never learned how. Ben taught me when I stayed with him for the summer.”

The corner of Mal’s lip kicked up in a smirk. “Sounds awfully rebellious for Ben.”

“Oh, he was a true wildcard back in the day,” Chad laughed, thinking about all the adventures they’d had. It seemed silly now, the satchels they’d pack for a night of camping or a day of exploring, determined to create more stories about the _prince and his princess_. 

It was amazing, sometimes, the blissful ignorance of children.

“Ben?” Mal echoed, not seeming to believe Chad. “Come on, what was the worst he did? Put his clothes away out of order?”

“He led us on a three-day excursion once where we escaped our chaperones,” Chad said. “Spent the entire time running from guards and hiding out on the beach. Lived off marshmallows and beef jerky. His mom was so mad when they found us, but Ben couldn’t have been prouder. His next goal was for us to vanish for a week.”

Mal laughed, the tension easing from her shoulders, the first it had happened in such close proximity to the horse. “And did you ever manage it?”

It took a dedicated effort not to lose his smile, to maintain a casual sort of nonchalance. “No,” Chad said, because then they’d gotten found out for kissing, and Ben’s plans had been ruined in the wake of reality. “But we’re pretty proud of those three days.”

He shook his head, trying to refocus, and scratched behind the horse’s ear. “If you’re really worried, you could just ride behind Ben,” he said. “Guy’s a natural, and his horse is pretty even tempered.”

“Know that from experience?” Mal hummed, her thin brows raised up towards her hairline.

“Yep,” Chad said, seeing no reason to lie. “So, what will it be?”

Mal considered her options, but her gaze was shifting over to Audrey, so Chad already knew her answer before she said it. “Think I’ll stick with your girlfriend for this one, slick.”

“Good choice,” Chad said, smiling. “Audrey is also a good rider.”

She’d won several championships, even. Had a pale pink riding jacket and everything. 

It wasn’t validation Mal needed, but she seemed happy to have it, Ben’s girlfriend bouncing away while Chad handed the reigns of her horse back to the groomsmen.

“So,” Ben began when Chad wandered over to him, Philippe Jr’s reigns held tight in his hand. “If our girlfriends are keeping each other company, want to ride with me? It’ll be like old times.”

It was tempting, but…

“We won’t get in trouble?” Chad asked, keeping his voice low. Girls got a free pass for being clingy and loving with their friends, but Ben and Chad had already crossed that line before, and Chad didn’t want to get banished again. Even with Audrey by his side, he was pretty sure he couldn’t stand it.

Ben’s smile got a little tense, but then he seemed to relax, sighing. “No,” he decided. “They’ll only know we took two horses out. They won’t know who’s riding with who.”

“We should ride out in our assigned couples,” Chad advised. “Just in case.”

No one really argued this arrangement, and Chad almost thought they might have forgotten, but Ben and Audrey pulled their horses to a stop when they were a little way down their trail, allowing their two passengers to switch comfortably.

“Good?” Ben asked, his cheeks flushed with exertion as Chad settled in place.

“Yup.” Chad grinned. “Just like old times.”

“Why does that not surprise me,” Mal deadpanned, pushing the purple-lensed sunglasses Audrey had gotten her further up her nose while the princess just smirked, kicking her horse into a low trot. 

“Our girlfriends are pretty cool,” Chad said as Ben moved to follow them.

“Yeah.” Ben smiled, though he couldn’t hide the slight tension that gripped his frame. “They are, aren’t they?”

It was rhetorical, but Chad almost wanted to go on and on about how happy he was, how he hoped they could keep this. Perhaps they could just double date forever. Or double wedding? It’d be cool to get married at the same time, Chad thought, and then Mal could invent a teleportation spell so they could visit each other in their different kingdoms all the time, and they wouldn’t have to be apart anymore. 

The idea made Chad unspeakably happy, though it was never something he thought to voice. He was afraid they’d think he was stupid, because this was just a _fling_ , even if Aziz and Malvin had assured him otherwise.

So Chad just kept it to himself like his own special wish. He figured if Jane ever did any Fairy Godperson-ing for him, _that_ was what he’d ask for.

And also sparkly shoes. 

“Chad,” Ben spoke up, almost on cue. “Do you ever worry about the future?”

“All the time,” Chad replied, feeling Ben startle. “Nothing’s set in stone, you know. I’m sure you’re super worried with running your kingdom, right? And then like, you’ll basically be proposing to Mal in three months.”

Ben tensed, like perhaps he’d forgotten that Cotillion was waiting for them at the end of the school year. Chad got it, though. It seemed pretty intimidating to essentially-propose to someone when you were both seventeen. If they weren’t royal, it’d be considered lunacy, but as it was, they had to have plans in place to assure a stable future for their kingdom. 

“…yeah,” Ben said, leaning his head back so it could brush against Chad’s, which he had tucked against Ben’s shoulder. “Have you ever felt torn between your duty and what you want in life?”

Chad pondered the question. “Can’t say that I have,” he admitted. “My father doesn’t allow me to perform many duties, and um… if I continue the way I have been, they might have me rescind my claim to the throne so a more ‘viable alternative’ can take over.” 

Ben flinched. “ _What?_ ” he asked, looking back at Chad with wide eyes. “What do you mean, Chad?”

“It’s just…”

How did he explain that Chad’s pathetic performance in school was a lifelong struggle that hadn’t improved in time? His tutors all thought he was just _lazy_ , that he wasn’t _applying himself_ , and Chad had no way of articulating how difficult he found it to read, how the letters seemed to keep moving around. He wanted to read, he _did_ , because Ben loved reading so much, and anything Ben liked had to be good, but Chad’s dumb brain just refused to do it. 

Chad struggled to articulate this plight, but then it didn’t seem to matter so much because an ominous _crash_ rumbled from the sky – storm clouds rolling in at an accelerated rate.

“It wasn’t supposed to rain today,” Ben said, squinting up at the clouds. “Chad-”

Another fearsome _clap_ of sound – lightning streaming in the distance – and then Audrey’s horse was rearing back on its hindlegs, taking off down the path in a terrified charge. 

“ _Fuck_ ,” Ben hissed, and then he sent Philippe Jr. after them, Chad tucking himself close to Ben’s back and holding on for dear life as the rain began to pour around them. “Audrey!” Ben called as they worked their way through the falling water. “There’s a clearing up ahead! Try to pull aside-”

There was another deafening _crash_ of thunder, and were Philippe Jr. not so comfortable with Ben, he might have spooked too. 

This was bad. This was very bad. Eventually, Audrey’s horse would run itself out, but Mal wasn’t wearing a helmet and she didn’t have any stirrups to hold her in, if she fell off-

Almost like clockwork, lightning flared across the sky, striking a tree up ahead of them just next to Mal and Audrey. For a moment, Chad couldn’t hear for the overwhelming noise, but then he saw Audrey’s horse rear back again, saw Mal fall-

“ _Mal!_ ” Ben was screaming, Audrey was screaming, Chad would have too if he could have heard anything, but he could only watch helplessly as the petite girl crumpled to the muddy ground, coming to a rolling halt. In that time, Ben managed to guide Philippe Jr. forward enough to grab the reigns of Audrey’s horse, and Chad wasted no time sliding down from behind him, crossing to Mal’s still body as quickly as possible. 

_Fuck_ , she wasn’t moving. She was breathing, she still had a pulse, but she wasn’t _moving_ -

“Chad!” Ben called through the relentless onslaught. “Pass her up here, I’ll take her back to the castle for help!”

“Should we move her?” Chad asked, panicking. “What if she hurt her neck?”

“Just do what he says, dipshit!” Audrey spat, her words muffled by the deluge of rain, but it was enough for Chad. He was careful, so very careful, gathering her up in his arms and pulling her towards his chest. She was so small, so _light_. How could someone so mighty seem so very weak and tiny?

“Come on,” Ben urged, and Chad passed her upwards, Ben pulling her to settle against his chest. The moment she was situated, Ben took off, riding back towards the castle in the new darkness of the storm. 

“Audrey,” Chad called, wandering towards her nervous horse. “Audrey, are you okay?”

“ _Obviously_ I’m okay!” she huffed, her pretty curls plastered against her head. “Don’t I look okay, Chad?! Don’t I look _perfectly fine?_ Because nothing happened! Nothing happened to a person _I_ was dating, so obviously, I’m _fine_!”

“You um- don’t sound fine,” Chad offered, because if anything, it sounded like Audrey was close to hysterical.

“Shut up, Chad!” Audrey hissed. “And get up here. I don’t want to stay in the fucking rain all day because you decided to dawdle.” 

Chad got up. 

Audrey’s horse didn’t seem particularly comforted by the change in course, and Audrey didn’t seem to be in the right mindset to guide it. It didn’t take long for Chad to wrap his hands around hers on the reigns and guide the horse himself, and it was with a terrible anxiety that they made their way back to the stables, where the groomsmen were waiting with worried expressions.

“Master Benjamin has taken Lady Mal to his quarters,” Cogsworth informed them when they more or less invaded the side hall mudroom. “The doctor is seeing to her now, but he believes she’ll make a full recovery. Just a slight knock on the head, is all.”

“Right,” Audrey said, but the tension in her shoulders didn’t ease, and Chad couldn’t stop reliving the words she had spat at him in her frustration.

“If you two would like to get freshened up in the guest quarters, I’ll have some clothes prepped for you,” Cogsworth said. “I can have your current things dry-cleaned-”

“Actually,” Audrey interrupted, her body wracked with shivers. “I think I’d like to go back to campus.”

That took Chad off guard.

“But what about Ben and Mal?” Chad asked. “We should be here when she wakes up-”

“ _Why?_ ” Audrey asked, glaring at Chad through her wet bangs. “Mal’s with her boyfriend. _Ben_ will take care of her. What does she need us for?”

Chad didn’t have an answer for that, or he did, but he didn’t know how to voice it. Because Mal might not _need_ Audrey’s light chiding or their good-natured arguments, but she’d probably like them. She didn’t need Chad’s presence at all, but Chad could keep Ben company while the girls-

“We should get out of their way,” Audrey said, her voice tight. “There’s an order to these things, Chad. It’d be stupid to try and fight that.”

“Oh… okay,” Chad said, following his sodden girlfriend with a sense of loss, Cogsworth scrambling to have a limo prepared for them, because Audrey had made up her mind and nothing was going to change that. 

Part of him ached to go find Ben, to check to see if he was okay, but…

But Audrey was right. That wasn’t really their place, was it?

It was a fact that hurt to think about.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Two days after the catastrophic trail ride, Audrey packed up her things from Auradon Prep and returned to Auroria, where she would spend out the rest of the semester at a spa retreat to ‘ _clear her mind_ ’, completing her coursework online and abandoning most other electronics, so Chad wouldn’t be able to talk to her. 

It effectively put an end to all double dates, though if anything, Ben seemed relieved by this prospect when Chad informed him of it.

“Yeah,” he said, sounding tired. “That’s probably for the best.”

“It is?” Chad had thought they’d all been having a good time. He wasn’t sure what had gone wrong, but that was the story of his life.

“…yeah,” Ben said. “We’ve been greedy, but it’s time to grow up, Chad. We can’t keep doing this.”

“You mean… I can’t hang out with you and Mal anymore?” Chad asked, and he’d already sort of known what the answer would be, what the answer _was_ , but he felt the need to voice the question anyway.

Ben expression gave away nothing. “No, Chad,” he said, his voice calm. “We’ve been spending too much time together as it is.”

“But…” They were bros. 

Ben shook his head. “Don’t make this hard, Chad.”

And then he’d walked away, just like he had the first time, and Chad felt like a reject all over again. He wasn’t sure if he was the only one torn up over this development, but he didn’t think he was with the way Mal started acting. She seemed frazzled and overwhelmed all the time. She died her hair blond and started dressing differently. She went from being _Mal_ to being this weird princess hybrid, but perhaps… perhaps that was part of ‘growing up’. Chad didn’t know.

He didn’t know anything.

He was alone again, but this time he had the Tourney team, at least. He had Jane and Fairy Godmother, and he still technically had Audrey, even if she wasn’t talking to him. 

He just needed to focus on the positives, was all. Ben was right, they had gotten greedy. Chad had forgotten how good he had it.

So he would take what he could from Ben and just… keep going on all other fronts, until eventually Audrey came back and everything would be good again.

It couldn’t take _that_ long. Perhaps until Cotillion. That seemed doable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who gave feedback!!! It is greatly appreciated, and a great highlight to my day!!! I probably say that too often, but it is definitely true ^_^
> 
> Story notes:
> 
> Now, you could very well look into the timeline of Chad’s birthday and compare it to his earlier birthday and wonder when it could be to make both chapters possibly work, but… well, I didn’t do that, so let’s not read too much into things ;D 
> 
> For the record, Chad does know what condoms are, he’s just not used to sexual slang in any capacity, because he is an awkward bean.
> 
> This leads us up to the first chapter, to Cotillion, which means from here on out, we’ll be proceeding into post-D2 territory. 
> 
> WARNING – Dubious consent – Audrey and Chad celebrate his birthday together in the first scene, and while Chad follows along, Audrey doesn’t really ask what he’s comfortable with. In this instance it is not detrimental, but the lack of communication may be worrisome to some. Same goes later in the scene when Mal and Ben arrive, for while Chad is eager to do just about anything with Ben, they don’t really have any kind of conversation about boundaries. 
> 
> Until next time


	8. Post-Cotillion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GENERAL WARNING – Dubious Consent sort of. Ben and Chad have a lot of intimate relations under the guise of the love potion – which would have happened anyway had they felt they were in a position they could be allowed as much. I wanted to tag for this just in case, because they obviously have a complete lack of inhibitions due to the love potion.

Uma prowled back into the room when Chad and Ben were still very much naked, not that either of them particularly cared. Ben had the decency to make sure the blanket was pulled up to their waists before continuing his plight to nuzzle and lazily kiss every part of Chad’s chest, a process that Chad couldn’t be more in support of. 

“Hey, lovebirds,” Uma greeted lazily, sprawling herself across the couch Ben and Chad had made out on earlier. “You got an immediate plan for what’s happening next that _doesn’t_ include sex?”

“Why would I focus on something so boring?” Ben murmured, mouthing at Chad’s collarbone. “But um- yes, we do. The ship should empty out in a couple of hours, and then I’ll have my car take us right to Auradon Castle so we can get started on the paperwork for Chad’s present.”

“Sort of feel like I already got my present,” Chad said somewhat dreamily, letting his fingers card through Ben’s hair. It had gotten even more wild over the course of their relations. “But… a _cousin_ , Ben. Do you think she’ll like me? I wanna make sure she has everything she needs.”

“She’ll like you,” Ben assured, rubbing small circles on Chad’s hip. “You’re very likeable.”

Chad groaned, because most people would disagree with that but it didn’t make it less flattering when Ben said it. 

Ben. _His_ Ben. 

Uma let out a scoff, but when Chad looked over, she was smiling. Or like, trying not to. “Dizzy likes just about everyone. Just set her up with a real sewing studio and jewelry making station or whatever and she’ll be happy.”

“She’s a seamstress?” Chad said, perking up. “That’s awesome. Hey, I could sponsor a clothing line for her.”

Uma cocked a brow at him. “You’re really going all-in on this cousin thing, aren’t you?”

Chad tensed, and Ben paused along with him, at least until he started nuzzling Chad’s shoulder again. “I don’t… I don’t have a lot of family.”

That would talk to him.

He wondered, vaguely, if this would grab their interest. If _this_ would make his father reach out to him or his grandfather bypass the intermediary of his secretary and contact Chad himself. 

Uma considered him for a moment, but Chad wouldn’t know how she felt because then Ben was kissing him, soft and insistent, until Chad melted back against the bed.

“We’re gonna fix that,” Ben promised, cradling Chad’s cheek. “My family’s yours now, and you’re never gonna be alone again.”

Chad felt his breath catch, because that right there – _that_ was what he wanted almost more than anything else.

A family, the promise that he wouldn’t be alone again, when he hadn’t known why he’d been alone before.

“Thank you, Ben,” Chad gasped, staring up at this person that had somehow become his, who everyone else had known was Chad’s.

It made Chad wonder if Audrey had known too. It sort of explained some things. 

“Don’t have to thank me for that, _Kitten_ ,” Ben murmured, wrapping Chad’s leg around his waist again so they could slide together, and Chad didn’t even really care if Uma was there, because the important part was that _Ben_ was there.

“You assholes are insatiable,” Uma declared, and then she left the room again, throwing up her hands.

“Insatiable for _you_ ,” Ben said, and then he started crawling down Chad’s body with a meaningful look, making Chad lose the thread of things again.

But in like, the _best_ way.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“You guys finally had enough?” Uma asked when they climbed into the limo, frowning down at the server uniform they had disguised her in.

“Not really,” Ben hummed as he dragged Chad into his lap, nuzzling the blond’s shoulder. “But that’s okay, we’ve got plenty of time.”

“ _Idiots_ ,” Uma declared with a roll of her eyes, but she was smiling too, even if she was trying really hard to hide it from them. 

“Speaking of,” Ben said, curling a possessive hand around Chad’s hip. “Would you like to stay for the summer, Kitten?”

Despite everything they had done to that point, Chad shivered, turning as much as he could so he could cling to Ben. “Yes, please. _Please_. I just-”

“I meant what I said,” Ben soothed, twining his fingers through Chad’s curls. “You’re not going to be alone again. And my parents don’t have any grounds for objection, since I’m king and all.”

“That’s it,” Uma drawled, staring out the window. “Abuse your authority for copious amounts of sex.”

“Not sex,” Ben insisted. “Love. I mean, you don’t like being away from the people you love, do you?”

Uma tensed, then pointedly did not look at them. “I don’t love anyone, your majesty.”

“Bullshit,” Ben said, just- he just cursed offhandedly, which Ben _did not do_. “I saw the way you looked at Harry. At Gil. You love them, that’s why you’re fighting so hard to make things better.”

“You’ve got two boyfriends?” Chad asked, perking up. “That’s sweet, captain.”

Uma turned to glare at them, though her anger seemed mildly conflicted. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. And we don’t have _dating_ back on the Isle.”

“Yeah,” Ben hummed. “Mal told me about that.”

“But you could date them out here,” Chad said. “And if anyone tried to attack you or hurt you, they would be charged and sent away and you could live your life in peace.”

“And it’s that simple?” Uma pressed, one eyebrow raised. “You think people would accept that? I thought Auradon was all about fitting into molds.”

“Um… hello?” Ben motioned to Chad. “As you can see, we’re a bit unconventional.”

“You’re _gay_ ,” Uma shot back. “That’s not the same as having three people in a relationship, dumbass.”

“By Auradon standards, it’s about as wild,” Chad hummed. “But hey, you’re friends with the king. So like, if people do give you shit, he’ll give them shit right back.”

“Yep,” Ben said, sounding entirely proud. “So don’t worry about it. You don’t have to hide who you love here.”

“And we’ll make sure Gil and Harry are roommates when they come over,” Chad said. “Like, we can’t let all three of you room together, but no one’s going to pay attention to whether you sleep in your assigned room or not.” He finished this off with a few winks, just so she could get his drift.

She stared at them, her expression giving nothing away. “…you guys are stupid,” she decided, slumping back against the seat. “Being this helpful to someone who kidnapped you.”

“You kidnapped Ben?” Chad had not heard that story, and when he turned to his boyfriend, Ben gave him a look that said he would explain things later, along with a soft kiss to further emphasize the fact that he was _totally fine_. 

When Ben pulled back, he offered Uma a small smile. “You had your back to the wall, captain,” Ben said, all cool and composed like. “You did the best you could with what you had, and now it’s my turn to give you better tools to fight with. You were right, I’ve been working too slow and that’s on me, but we’re not going to do that anymore. As soon as we can, we’re going to start setting up refugee centers and getting all the children off of the Isle.”

“And then the petty criminals,” Chad added, tugging on Ben’s sleeve. “Because banishment is pretty severe for someone who stole like, a loaf of bread, or who fell behind on their dept payments.”

Chad had always thought that, and it was a comfort to know that most of his classmates felt the same.

Ben smiled at him like Chad had offered him the moon on a string. “Yes, them too. And then we’ll fix the entire incarceration system. But first-”

“The kids,” Uma said, crossing her arms to prove that she would not budge on this subject. “And then we’ll work on the rest.”

“Yep.” Chad grinned. “You should give Uma a fancy title, Ben. Something that will give her authority with the council.”

“That,” Ben said, smiling wide. “Is a brilliant idea.”

Uma rolled her eyes. “Just make sure it has the word ‘captain’ in it.”

“I mean, _obviously_ ,” Chad giggled, thinking about all the wonderful things they were going to do.

For Auradon.

And, you know, _in bed_. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Uma?!” was how Mal snarled her way into Ben’s office, the VKs staying at Auradon Castle for the summer, or at least using it as their base of operations. 

There would be a trip to Hanover in the future for Evie, and Agrabah for Jay, and Carlos had been invited to look at the Ratcliffe’s rescue dog facility, so they had some sightseeing to do in the meantime, but for now they were shacked up in the guest quarters of Ben’s castle, safely away from the secret bungalow they were hosting Uma in.

“You’re inviting over _Uma?!_ ” Mal continued with a growl, Evie fluttering along behind her with a concerned look while Jay and Carlos lingered near the doorway, Carlos wearing a look of mild guilt that indicated he had likely been the one to procure that supposedly classified information for Mal in the first place. “ _And_ her whole crew? You can’t invite the person that kidnapped you, Ben – she’s evil!”

“No,” Ben countered evenly, composed because he’d been expecting this objection ever since they started setting up the framework for the new refugees’ stay. “She’s angry and passionate and got pushed into a corner. And now I’m going to make good on what I should have done months ago.”

He hadn’t, because he’d been so worked up about Chad, something the blond didn’t learn until he’d been unpacking the things Ben’s servants had collected from Auradon Prep. Ben had been struggling to find his new equilibrium as king, and then he had Mal, and then he got Chad without really getting him, and that had thrown him off his funky groove.

Which was both flattering and affirming, because that meant Ben had been thinking of Chad as much as Chad had been thinking of _him_. 

“You’re an idiot,” Mal snapped. “Uma has magic like I do, get her out from under the barrier and who knows what havoc she could cause!”

It wasn’t an unfair point, especially with the magic ban still in effect (Ben and Chad were going to work on that, but it was a distant thing, one that needed to be handled after the Isle issues had been taken care of). Uma hadn’t used any magic _yet_ (at least, not to Chad’s knowledge), but the fact that she could was a justified concern.

“What do you suggest, Mal?” Ben asked, already beginning to sound strained by the conversation (even if he loved Chad, Ben had been with Mal for a long time, and it was hard to just let go of that relationship cold turkey). “If I put her under any sort of magic restriction or magic monitoring, I’d have to do the same to you and Jay.”

Mal froze, as though not expecting to be broached with such a subject, and then bared her teeth. “We swore to be good, Ben.”

“Then… should we give Uma’s crew the chance to do the same?” Chad asked, speaking up for the first time since Mal had stormed into the office. “If they’re not comfortable doing that right away, we can give them space, and monitor Uma for magic stuff until she _does_ take the oath.”

“Fucking ridiculous,” Mal muttered, folding her arms across her chest with a defensive scowl. “Only you would think some measly words could keep Uma in check.”

“She deserves the right to choose, Mal,” Ben said softly. “Same as you guys did. If she chooses to be evil, then she’ll go back to the Isle, and that will be that.”

“But what about all the other Isle kids?” Evie pressed, stepping forward. “Won’t that hurt their chances for getting off?”

“Not in my book,” Ben said. “The children of the Isle committed no crimes to warrant their confinement and as such, all of them qualify for Central Auradon citizenship, or citizenship to their kingdom of origin, should they prefer that instead.”

That was something they were still working on, because not all the kingdoms necessarily wanted to host villain children, though most of the kingdoms, thankfully, were more open-minded.

“You should help us, Evie,” Chad said suddenly, overcome by the idea. “You’re great with legislature and talking to people, we could really use your help getting the refugee relief programs in place.”

Evie stared at Chad with an unreadable expression, as though she hadn’t expected this suggestion, even though she was totally qualified.

“Chad makes a good point,” Ben said, making the blond feel all mushy inside. “As an Isle refugee yourself, your voice could have a huge effect on the council, and you are one of the most organized people I know.”

“…I’d be honored,” Evie said, dipping into a light courtesy. 

Mal didn’t seem super happy about the exchange, but Mal didn’t seem happy about most of the stuff going on that day.

“Awesome.” Ben grinned. “I’ll get with my assistants to work on your schedule, though of course we’ll plan around your visit to Hanover.”

“No.” Evie shook her head. “This is more important. I can visit with Queen Snow when she comes for her council sessions, but if we’re doing this, we need to do it _right_.”

Ben offered a smile so wide it threatened to make Chad’s heart stop with its brilliance. “That sounds like a plan to me, your highness.”

-:-:-:-:-:-

Working with Evie was almost like coming home. Chad had liked dating Evie when he’d been allowed the privilege, and it was nice to be close to her again, nice to watch her brilliance in action. While Mal and Carlos were not much for paperwork – Mal preferring to angrily work on murals in the art studio Ben had set aside for her and Carlos preferring to crunch numbers on his laptop – Jay was almost a constant throughout the process. Which was weird, because he didn’t really research (well, Chad didn’t either, he wasn’t good at it so he stuck to networking), but he was very supportive. He’d run to get Evie and Ben copies of the books they needed or trade out cups of cold tea with fresh ones or help Chad herd the unstoppable workforce that was Ben and Evie towards things like _lunch_ and _naps_ and _breaks_. Inconvenient things that humans needed that they stubbornly ignored. 

“ _Chad_ ,” Ben whined when the blond had taken to kissing the side of the king’s neck as a distraction technique. “We can’t- just a few more minutes.”

“You said that half an hour ago,” Chad chided, taking the book from Ben’s hands and marking his place before spinning the king by his beltloops, turning him to face Chad. “You and Evie have been working all night.” It was early morning now. “You need to eat something and go to _bed_.”

“You both do,” Jay added softly as he tried to extricate a fussy Evie from her hoard of books. It did not seem to be a successful process.

“I have-” Ben yawned. “-a um, meeting at noon…”

“I’ll wake you up before then.” Chad started tugging Ben towards the door to his office, grateful that the king and Evie had decided to work in the space just off of Ben’s suite, making his bed close at hand. “I’ll also be sure to shove some food in you, now would you _please-_ ”

“Just…” Ben kept craning his head over his shoulder, back towards his desk while Chad walked him forward. “We’re really getting close to something.”

“It will be there later.” Chad took great satisfaction in pushing Ben down onto his bed, which was exactly where Chad wanted him. 

Ben was so tired, he didn’t even do the thing where he blushed outrageously because he was sprawled out on his bed like a treat and Chad was looming over him. “I can’t… I don’t think I can turn my brain off.”

“Pretty sure I can help with that,” Chad hummed, then took great pleasure crawling between Ben’s legs.

“ _Chad_ ,” the king whined when Chad started undoing his belt. “You can’t- they’re _right_ there.”

“They won’t mind,” Chad dismissed, looking up when Jay finally appeared in the office doorway with Evie cradled in his arms. “Hey, you don’t care if I give Ben a blowjob, do you?”

Jay paused as though life had not prepared him for this question, which seemed really weird for Jay because he was just about always down for sexy time. “…do you care if I eat Evie out?”

“I do not,” Chad said sagely as Ben groaned, and then Jay got this sort of determined look as he settled Evie on the other side of bed. 

“ _Chad_ ,” Ben moaned when Chad eased his pants down, the blond mouthing at the semi-interested length through the soft material of his underwear.

“Why are you fussing?” Chad asked between sucks, teasing Ben with his fingers until he was a shaking mess. “We’ve done this with other people watching before.”

“You have?” Jay asked, looking up from where he was divesting Evie of her panties.

“I mean, it was our girlfriends-” Chad clarified, only to be interrupted by Jay’s huff.

“Figures.”

Well… Chad guessed it did. 

Ben didn’t last long, because he was exhausted and barely had the stamina to stay awake, let alone hold out. Evie didn’t seem to be any better, the princess writhing while Jay carefully coaxed her to completion, and she and Ben looked really pretty sprawled out next to each other, Jay wiping off his mouth with the back of his hand.

“…you’ve gotten pretty good at that,” Jay noted when Chad was tucking Ben back into his clothes.

Chad knew the other teen had been watching him, his gaze darting over to where he’d been pleasuring Ben from time to time. Chad wasn’t sure if Jay wanted to see his apprentice in action, or if perhaps he thought Ben was pretty like everyone else did.

Well, he could _watch_. Chad was the only one who got to touch, now.

It was his own rule.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Things changed, after that. For Chad, it seemed like they had collectively realized that the imposed boundaries of what they thought society found respectable had been stripped away, leaving them with the comfort of friendship. Or something like that. 

Sex turned out to be an effective way to tire both Ben and Evie out, which meant Chad and Jay could ensure that they slept every once and a while, and could lock up their office when they woke up until they did stuff like _eating_ and _bathing_.

“You need sun,” Chad insisted one afternoon, when he and Jay had to essentially drag the two of them out of the castle for a picnic. “You need something whimsical and fun.”

“I can’t- I’ve been _slacking_ ,” Ben protested with a groan. “I have to make up for lost time.”

“You _have_ to not run yourself into the ground in the meantime,” Chad tutted, and you could guess which one of them ended up winning that round.

Hint-hint, it was Chad. 

It was Chad that got to take comfort in finding a scenic, isolated meadow for the four of them to rest in, Chad that goaded Ben and Evie into a conversation that didn’t have to do with legislature. It was Chad that got to lazily make out with his boyfriend, who blushed when Jay did the same with Evie, the slight princess curled in his lap. It was _nice_. 

They deserved nice, sometimes. 

It was Chad’s idea to take Evie out to a fashion show one day, where Chad had arranged for the dresses she had made for Cotillion to walk the runway in her very first collection. The princesses that had made the purchases were more than happy to help, and it was great publicity to see one of the VKs so wonderfully successful and good, her art being celebrated in public. They went out for a congratulatory dinner after it, Evie smiling at Chad like she didn’t know what to do with him.

It was Jay’s idea to drag Ben to a professional Tourney game in disguise, the king protesting almost the entire time until Jay had to call Chad, who threatened to set all of Ben’s paperwork on fire to get him to cooperate(not that he would have, because Mal would have killed him for harming Evie’s work, but the bluff had worked). Jay was able to drag Ben out to do _friend_ things, which Ben insisted he did not need, because he felt so guilty for his first six months as king that he almost didn’t know what to do with himself.

That was what ultimately brought Chad to Uma’s private cottage, a secluded place by the ocean armed with state-of-the-art security. They couldn’t officially ‘bring’ Uma over until the end of summer and they actually had accommodations in place for her crew, so she was alone for the time being. Ben hadn’t wanted her to feel trapped behind the walls of the castle, so he’d arranged for the private cottage to be set up, something close to the sea so Uma could explore her mer-person roots. Apparently, she had _tentacles_.

Chad thought they were super cool. 

She was actually out swimming when Chad came to visit her, the captain’s torso bathing in the sun as she splayed back against a large, flat rock by the ocean, her lower half submerged in the water, leaving her pretty, shimmering tentacles swaying in the current.

“Blondie,” Uma drawled when she caught sight of Chad settling next to her. “Brought me more paperwork to look over?”

“Some,” Chad allowed, thinking of the folder he’d left in Uma’s cottage. “But I also wanted to talk to you about some stuff.”

“Is it about Ben?” Uma asked, seeming more amused than annoyed.

“Do I always talk about Ben?” Chad wondered, running a nervous hand through his hair.

Uma laughed at him. “Just about damn near always,” she murmured. “Now tell me what’s bugging you.”

“It’s more like what’s bugging _him_ ,” Chad sighed. “Ben feels really awful about… well, he thinks he fell down on the job his first six months as king. Which- yeah, he didn’t bring more VKs over, but a shift in power is always a delicate and lengthy process. He had to find his footing, and now that he’s actually working on the Isle issues-”

“Like he should have been,” Uma hummed.

“-he’s running himself into the ground.” And making Chad’s chest hurt. “Uma, he won’t be able to pull this off in the long run if he burns himself out, and he won’t listen to me when I tell him to take a break. Could you… could you talk to him?” It was that part of the conversation that left Chad feeling uneasy. “I know you’re still mad about him not bringing kids over when he should have, but perhaps if you told him to take care of himself, he would, because he’s no good to the Isle kids if he works himself to death.”

Uma considered Chad’s words, leaving the blond’s heart to pound fitfully in his chest.

Eventually, she shrugged. “Fine, I’ll talk to him,” she allowed. “ _Someone_ has to set the idiot straight if he’s not listening to his sweetie pie.”

She then spent the following five minutes laughing at Chad for his furious blushed reaction to her pet name. 

The subsequent conversation with Uma went rather well. 

“Hey,” Uma had drawled at Ben’s entrance, the captain standing in her cozy kitchen this time, reading through one of the books Chad had sent her. “Dumbass – take fucking care of yourself. You feel guilty about leaving the rest of us behind? _Fix_ _it_ , but you can’t do that if you’re working yourself stupid every day, so just…” she sighed, like emotions were a burden she wished she could ignore altogether. “What you’re doing _now_ , that’s apology enough, alright? Keep doing it, but also listen to your damn boyfriend, he knows what’s up.”

“…yes, captain,” Ben had said, flushed, but with the tension easing from his shoulders in gradual movements.

Things got a little better after that. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

“Hey,” Ben said one night when they were curled in bed together, Chad sated and happy when Ben pet a hand through his curls. “We should get married.”

“Wasn’t that always the plan?” Chad asked, nuzzling against Ben’s chest. It was a pretty great chest. “Thought you made that decision when we were like, eleven.”

And then Ben had made Chad his Gentleman of the Court, and everyone had cheered, which pretty much sealed the deal.

Ben hummed, shifting uneasily. “I um… I just wanted to check we were still-”

“ _Ben_ ,” Chad sighed, shoving the covers back so he could straddle the king’s naked body, reveling in the embarrassed flush that seemed to spread down Ben’s torso. “Yes – a thousand times, _yes_. Get me a ring, I’ll wear the damn thing right now, okay?”

“Check the um… nightstand?” Ben said almost bashfully, something that devolved into laughter when Chad lunged for the drawer, pawing through it until he found a velvet ring box.

“This is so dumb,” Ben marveled when Chad slid the ring on, the king wrapping around his back with happy nuzzles. “I was supposed to have a big elaborate _thing_ to ask you. You deserve a big elaborate thing-”

“I deserve you,” Chad clarified, turning to cup Ben’s face between his hands before dragging him down into a filthy kiss. “And now I have you, and I’m going to keep you forever.”

“My prince,” Ben murmured, a wondrous sort of grin pulling at his lips.

“My king,” Chad countered, and then he climbed into Ben’s lap again, because they had some _celebrating_ to do.

-:-:-:-:-:-

They sent an invitation to their engagement party to Chad’s father out of obligation, so it really wasn’t a surprise when the Duke stormed up to Auradon castle a few days later, a confused set in his brow. 

Chad actually wasn’t there for the beginning of their conversation – he’d been with his new tutors because apparently he had something called _dyslexia_ , which was why he had such a hard time reading, and he wasn’t actually dumb and that had been a big day of celebration for them. It had ended with Ben, Jay, _and_ Evie taking Chad out for dinner – Mrs. Potts baking him a cake that Jay might have smashed into his face but then Ben licked it off and then they devolved into eating cake off of their respective partners like double dating people did.

“I swear to evil, Chad,” Mal had said when she’d cornered him the next afternoon, Chad riding the high of his new, legible flashcards. “If you’re fucking with Evie and Jay again, I will cut your damn dick off, I don’t care who your boo is.”

Chad stared at Mal with a look of what could only be incomprehension. “…I would never fuck with them, Mal,” he said, because that was the only reply he had. “You’ve got to believe that.”

Mal narrowed her eyes at Chad, her glare fierce and relentless. “I believe that _you_ believe that,” she settled on. “But that’s about as generous as I’m willing to be.”

She left Chad not long after, the blond staring hopelessly at the space she had once occupied, wondering how they’d gotten to that point.

It was an intense confrontation, much like the one his grandfather had managed with Ben’s mom, because while Chad hadn’t been available to talk to the Duke, she had been.

Queen Belle had taken Chad’s grandfather to the parlor for a _discussion_ , only when Chad finally came upon them, it was more like a one-sided growling match.

“-the boy is a simpleton,” the Duke was saying, his tone harsh. “He’s kind enough, but he doesn’t have the strength to lead Sardinia, let alone Auradon! We were already searching for a suitable replacement, and this farce will make that all but impossible!”

“Perhaps that’s for the best, then,” Queen Belle said coolly while Chad struggled with the fact that his grandfather thought he was stupid. That they really had been trying to replace him. “Chad is a great young man, Duke Francis, and he would be a boon to both Sardinia and Auradon. Now, I have tried discussing Ben and Chad’s relationship with both you and Christopher before but you wouldn’t hear it, so here are the facts.”

There was a pause, and Chad wondered what she was doing, if she was like, _intimidating_ his grandfather.

“We are past the point of trying to end this,” she declared. “Ben and Chad have made it very clear that they are happiest when they are together. We have tried to keep them apart, and we both saw how well _that_ turned out, so you could either consider being supportive, or continue to be a non-participant in Chadwick’s life. Either way, they _will_ maintain their engagement and they _will_ be getting married, and eventually, Chad will be King of Sardinia, like Ella would have wanted, and he will be Lord Consort of Auradon, which Ben decided almost a decade ago at this point.”

“This is- this is preposterous,” the duke sputtered. “You can’t-”

“It’s done,” Queen Belle said, her tone resolute. “Now make your choice.”

The duke marched out of the castle not long after that without ever seeing Chad, which the blond assumed was his final decision. 

“…I don’t think my dad’s coming to our party,” Chad said at dinner that night, Jay taking the brunt of the effort to corral Ben and Evie because Chad felt so lost. “Or my grandfather. He… um…”

Ben’s face fell. “Did you overhear their conversation? My mom said she talked to your grandfather in the parlor ealier.”

“I did.” Chad nodded, staring down at his plate. “He… he really doesn’t like me. And distantly, I already knew that, it’s just…”

“It’s hard,” Evie said, her voice careful and quiet. “It’s hard not being cared for by people that are supposed to love you.”

Chad could feel himself shivering, because that was really the heart of the issue, wasn’t it? After all these years with the school counselor, Chad understood that what his father had done to him was called _neglect_ , and that it wasn’t Chad’s fault that it had happened in the first place. He understood that his father had fallen into a deeply depressed state after the death of Chad’s mother that he’d never really recovered from, and his grandfather struggled to help keep the king functioning and maintaining proper appearances and didn’t have time to raise Chad as well. Now that he was eighteen, Chad _understood_ those things, they just didn’t make them hurt less. 

“You know they never came to a single Parents’ Day?” Chad said out of the blue, feeling compelled by an unknown force. “In junior high I waited twelve hours for them, once. They didn’t even call. Fairy Godmother had to come get me or my stupid face would have waited all night.”

“You weren’t stupid,” Jay said, reaching out to take Chad’s hand in his own. “You were hopeful. And perhaps it was a misplaced hope, but it’s admirable that you had it nonetheless.”

“Forget your dad and grandfather,” Ben said, taking Chad’s other hand. “Fairy Godmother and Captain Anozie already RSVP’d to our engagement party. They can stand in as your parents for all the wedding stuff.”

Chad tensed up, barely wanting to hope for such a thing. “Do you think they’d agree to it?”

“Without a doubt,” Evie said, smiling sweetly, her words echoed with such confidence that Chad didn’t dare contemplate denying her. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

They held the engagement party at the Enchanted Lake, because it was Ben’s favorite place in the entire world and he and Chad had spent every summer they were together playing in its clear waters and running through the woods, pretending to be adventurers. Ben had taught Chad how to swim there, and it was where they’d planned out their future family, the kids they would adopt and the dog they would rescue and who would get to write the book of their fairytale. 

The unanimous decision was Ben’s mom, with Chad drawing the illustrations. 

These were the details they kept to themselves while Jane threw herself into planning the party (she insisted it was her duty as god sister to one of the grooms, and Chad had spent a few seconds confused before he started crying, because he had a _sister_ ). They decided to combine the designs of their respective kingdoms to come up with their wedding colors – royal blue, aquamarine, and gold. Jane outdid herself decorating the Enchanted Lake Pavilion, until their special scenic retreat seemed worthy of royalty. 

It was nice seeing all their friends in one place, to get to hug Fairy Godmother and Captain Anozie, to shake hands with King Adam and exchange light hugs with Queen Belle and Ben’s grandfather, Maurice, to whom Ben had been gushing about Chad to for many years now. _Especially_ during that period where they were supposed to be apart. 

“I’m not at all surprised,” Maurice told them through his thick pair of spectacles, Ben groaning while his grandfather recalled every embarrassing story he could. “Ben spent three months obsessed with art books just so he could get a better understanding of you.”

“Are we telling tragic Ben stories?” Aziz asked, pushing into the conversation with a grin. “Because I have several and they all need to be shared.”

“ _Guys_ ,” Ben groaned again, but he was ignored, because Chad wanted details, _now_.

“The year – sixth grade,” Aziz continued with a dramatic wave of his hand. “The place – Ms. Henderson’s classroom. We were each tasked to create a presentation on our plans for the future of our kingdoms, and while most of us went on about the monsters we were going to fight and the treasures we were going to discover, good old Ben here-” 

“ _Please_ ,” Ben pitifully begged, his face hidden in his hands.

“-had a sensible list outlining the legislature he was going to implement, and he was going to be able to do it all because he was going to marry his best friend Chadwick James, and they would do it together.”

“You said that in a presentation?” Chad laughed, turning to meet Ben’s embarrassed expression in wonder. “ _Ben_.”

“I couldn’t keep it in anymore,” Ben insisted, all flushed. “And besides, no one believed me anyway. Or like, they thought we’d just be platonic best friends or something because Ms. Henderson sat me down and explained to me that princes married _princesses_ and I said I knew that and she said…” Ben trailed off with a sigh.

“Long story short,” Aziz laughed. “Ben has always known what he wanted.”

“And the rest of us knew it too,” Malvin drawled. “Pretty sure the only person who didn’t know it was Chad, and at first I thought ye were oblivious, but now I just think you’re like, super humble.”

“Yes,” Ben hummed, hugging Chad to his chest from behind. “That’s my frustrating, humble boy.”

“ _Stop_ ,” Chad groaned, feeling his cheeks fill with warmth.

“If I don’t get a break, _you_ don’t get a break,” Ben said, giving Chad one last squeeze before regretfully stepping away. 

“Who wants another Ben story?!” James called, the cry met with another enthusiastic round of cheers. 

They spent the next thirty minutes or so like that, Chad laughing at all the things he must have missed over the years and enjoying the bashful expression on Ben’s face. He couldn’t help but periodically check his watch, because the VKs hadn’t shown up yet. Evie had mentioned something about a surprise, so they were prepping at her cottage (she purchased one with her own money, and Chad knew it wasn’t his place to be proud but he felt it anyway) before they came to the party. He was growing worried about how late it was, even though the party had just gotten started. He knew there was likely a good reason they were running behind, so he tried not to be too concerned. Somehow, he knew Evie and Jay wouldn’t leave him hanging, even if Mal and Carlos might consider it out of spite. Or, Mal would. 

Despite his efforts, some of his anxiety must have shown on his face as he looked out over the lake, because James approached him with a mischievous bounce in his step not long after.

“Hey-o,” the brunette cheered, running a hand through his wild hair. “You worried about Evie and the others?”

“…yeah,” Chad admitted, looking at his feet.

“You know what would help you stop worrying about that?” James teased, his tone full of mischief. “Worrying about something _else_.”

“Like what?” Chad asked, and that was the only warning he got before James unceremoniously _shoved him into the lake_. 

_Fuck_ , it was cold. It was-

Like getting hit in the face with a brick full of memories, everything seeming to slam into him at once as the sickly enchanting feel of forced love seeped away from his bones.

For a moment Chad just stood there numbly, re-experiencing the things he’d already experienced through the lens of someone who had _not_ been love enchanted or whatever Uma had done. The entire process took a couple of seconds, seconds where he was sure he looked like a dope standing still, soaked to the bone while everyone else laughed at him (but like, good natured laughing, because they did that for the Chad that was _Ben’s fiancé_ ) while he very much freaked out.

“Chad?” Ben asked, smile wide and gaze adoring just like it had been back on the ship, except he’d been aiming that on Uma, because he had no choice in the matter. “Are you okay, Kitten?”

Fucking _fuck_ that dumbass nickname too, _shit_.

“Yep,” Chad said, pushing wet curls out of his face. “Perhaps um… you should join me.”

“I’m good,” Ben laughed, an adoring laugh, because he’d been _enchanted_. “I can get you a towel, though-”

“Aw, Benjamin, don’t be like that,” Aziz crooned beside the king, taking matters into his own hands. “Go be with your sweetie.”

And with that, Ben was promptly pushed into the water.

Well, that was one way to do things. 

Ben emerged from the lake with a sputter, setting off another round of laughter, but Chad was mostly terrified because he didn’t know what would happen next. Obviously, they had to break Ben’s enchantment because _it was an enchantment_ , and that was what you did with people suffering magical afflictions, that was the _heroic_ thing to do, but now he was at a loss and he wasn’t sure if Ben was going to start freaking out or not. 

Probably not. Ben never freaked out. He hadn’t even freaked out when Mal had love potioned him, but Chad had been there, he’d discovered what happened, and then like a total schmuck, he’d gotten enchanted as well. He’d _helped_ the bad guy.

Only… Uma didn’t seem so bad, really. She was just mad about understandable things and went about fixing those things with like, really bad plans.

_Ugh_ , this was like Chad making Evie do his homework all over again.

When Ben blinked back into awareness, his gaze was laden with a kind of concern unhindered by the effects of love. It was just Ben, again. The Ben that had visited Chad in the hospital, that had rubbed his back when he’d been too sick to leave his dorm room. It was Friend Ben, Chad’s _pal_. 

“Alright, alright,” Aziz said as the laughter died down. “Get out of there. Mal’s going to be upset if she missed us shoving you in the lake, we’ll probably have to recreate it for her later.”

“Right,” Chad said. “Um… Ben and I are going to have a conversation first.” His eyes scanned the far bank of the lake, and he motioned to that. “Over there.”

The smile slid off Aziz’s face. “You guys aren’t fighting again, are you?”

“Aw, shit,” Malvin groaned, slumping against Hero. “ _Guys_.”

“We aren’t fighting,” Chad assured him, already beginning his trek through the cold waters. “This is just… a _fiancé_ conversation.”

“Right,” Ben said, offering everyone his charming ‘everything is fine’ smile. “We’ll be right back, guys. Go ahead and party on without us.”

James eyed them with narrowed eyes, bumping shoulders with Lonnie. “ _That_ isn’t foreboding or anything.”

“You know, it’s probably fine,” they heard Aziz’s voice floating behind them as they made their retreat. “I was actually getting worried about how little they were fighting.”

_‘We’re not fighting’_ , Chad wanted to call over his shoulder, except there was the undeniable fact that they were probably going to fight, and it was going to be a rough one. 

They didn’t say anything as they trooped out of the water and into the woods, deep enough so they were no longer visible to the party guests. 

Chad didn’t even know where to start, so he turned to face Ben with a scowl. “Ben-”

“I know, Chad,” Ben sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

“You…” Chad didn’t even know what to say. “You’re the _worst_. You have got to stop getting love enchanted by people who don’t like you!”

And then he’d gotten _Chad_ dragged into it, because Ben was so lousy at keeping up his guard, and so much shit had happened and people seemed to be happy and Chad had done to Audrey what _Ben_ had done to Audrey and now everyone thought he and Ben were going to get _married_. Until five minutes ago, _Chad_ had thought they were getting married.

“ _I know_ ,” Ben groaned, hanging his head the way he never did. “But you figured it out. Why didn’t you get anyone?”

“Because I thought it was another love potion!” Chad burst, flailing his arms so he could sufficiently express his unhappiness. “I didn’t know she had a magic necklace. Who the hell has a magic necklace?”

Trick question, they both already knew the answer was Uma, who had probably been laughing over their trials and tribulations as a love potioned couple for like months now. 

Despite this very easy answer, Ben didn’t say anything for a moment. He just stood there, kind of shocked, eying Chad with an open sort of confusion. “You… you knew about the love potion? What… what Mal did…”

“I bugged your carriage, you _nimrod_ ,” Chad burst, feeling angry all over again. “Because you were dating Audrey and then suddenly you were singing songs to _Mal_ and Mal didn’t even like you that much so of course I thought it was weird! So I like- spied on you guys, and I didn’t think anything would come from the carriage thing to be honest, but then I found out she _love potioned_ you into dating her and you didn’t say _shit_ about it to anyone!” 

“I couldn’t!” Ben insisted. “If I told anyone, Mal and the others would have been sent back to the Isle for sure-”

“Well, perhaps they should have been!” Chad shouted. “Since they enchanted you _against your will-_ ”

“She had a crush on me!”

“She was _using you!_ ” Chad could feel frustrated tears begin to pool at the corners of his eyes. “She was using you just like I said she was going to and yes, _I get it_ , it’s a lot more complicated than that and they were just like- super desperate to get some kind of guarantee for their safety-”

“Then you understand-”

“I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me!” That was actually the part that hurt the most, because Chad had stood there, looking Ben right in the eye, and Ben had lied to him. “I asked you and you didn’t say _shit_ , Ben. Why… why didn’t you say anything?”

Ben didn’t look guilty, exactly, because he probably didn’t believe he had done anything wrong. Instead he just looked kind of sad, and Chad was _sick_ of that look getting aimed at him. “I couldn’t trust you,” he admitted eventually. “I couldn’t trust that you had the VKs’ best interests at heart. With how quickly you dumped Evie-”

“I didn’t dump Evie,” Chad snapped. “I _asked_ her to coronation. I asked, like a gentleman asks, because she is not obligated to go with me – and do you know what she said?” Ben didn’t, because Chad had never told anyone. “She said _no_. I asked her and she said _no_ , and then she broke up with me. So yeah, when Audrey asked me I said yes, because at least I wouldn’t be going alone, and also you were totally mean to her.”

Chad just really hadn’t wanted to get left behind again, so he had to take the definite thing. And sure, Audrey wasn’t the nicest to him, but at least she’d been dedicated. They spent a lot of time talking about Ben together, but Chad liked talking about Ben. It was one of his favorite subjects. 

Ben didn’t say anything for a moment, caught off guard by Evie’s flightiness. 

Chad had been too. 

“You still… you still could have talked it out with Evie,” Ben insisted, but it was a shaky sort of thing, like he was struggling to process everything that was happening. 

“You should have talked it out with _me_ ,” Chad insisted. “We’re friends, we’re supposed to be _friends_ , but you don’t trust me. You pass me over for four new kids and what’s worse is that when someone _love potioned_ you into dating them, you just- you kept dating Mal! Why would you do that? You had to know deep down she didn’t really have a crush on you!”

Like Ben had known _deep down_ Chad was a _good gu_ y. 

“I… I didn’t want to put her in an awkward position,” Ben said, his gaze flicking to the side uneasily, like no one had asked him that before. “I made that huge overture while I was under the effects of the love potion, I couldn’t just stop dating her right after coronation, people would think I was intimidated by the whole dragon thing. I had to support her.”

“And then you kept dating her?” Chad pressed. “You couldn’t date for a few months, realize you weren’t compatible or whatever, and then mutually break it off? You were going to make her your _Lady of the Court_ , Ben. That pretty much makes her your fiancé. Did you want to marry her? Obviously, she didn’t want to marry you-”

“It’s more complicated than that, Chad!” Ben growled, the beast beginning to edge into his tone. “Mal and I… we were good together. We made a good team, and I thought- it would be good to help with the Isle improvements, give the Isle citizens who could be reformed someone to look up to.”

“That’s not a reason to marry someone, Ben!”

Or perhaps it was, and Chad was just being unfair. He was probably being unfair, because that sounded like a very kingly thing to do, but Chad just- he _hated_ the thought of Ben resigning himself to that when he deserved so much more. He deserved the moon and the sun and the stars and all Chad could give him was an argument on the outskirts of a lake, dripping water and frustration in equal measures. 

“Yes it is, _Chad!_ ” Ben snarled, he _snarled_ , because he was full beast now. “And if I had done a better job easing Mal into what she had to do, _she_ would have been my Lady of the Court and we could have worked together. But instead I had to scare her off, and now-”

“And now you’re stuck with me,” Chad said, feeling a surge of bitterness take him, the weight of his dumb engagement ring heavy on his finger.

Immediately, Ben’s face crumpled into an expression of apology, because he actually was a good guy. “No, Chad,” he sighed, taking a step forward. “We’ve achieved a lot of good together, and granted, it didn’t start ideally, but we _got_ there-”

“Holy hell,” Chad said, brushing his wet curls back as he was struck with a sudden epiphany. “We can’t get married.”

Ben’s brows furrowed into a sad look. “Chad-”

“We _can’t_ get married,” Chad insisted, stumbling a few feet away from Ben. “You don’t even like me! You don’t trust me, and it would be um- _enabling_ bad behavior, if I let you- if we kept doing this after your love spell had been broken, because that was what you did the first time! And it wasn’t right _then_ , either!”

Holy shit, _holy_ _shit_ , Chad had been so happy that morning, picking out his outfit and primping himself for Ben and marveling at his pretty ring but it had all been a lie and now his chest felt like it was ripping itself apart. He felt so unspeakably _sad_ , because he liked the idea of spending the rest of his life with Ben. The times in his life where he was with Ben had been his happiest, and now that was all going to get ripped away because Ben hadn’t wanted to be there in the first place.

“Chad…” Ben said, and his eyes were going all wet and beseeching, like he might cry. “Chad, _please_. I do like you, and I… this didn’t start how I would have wanted it to, but I’d be honored to spend my life with you. _Please_ believe that.”

“I believe that you believe that,” Chad said, bitterly echoing the words that had wrecked him so many weeks ago. “But it’s not true, Ben. And deep down-”

“Let the _‘deep down_ ’ thing drop, Chad!” Ben snapped, and then he was surging forward until he could curl his hands around Chad’s shoulders. “I was an asshole, I admit it! Your goodness isn’t _deep down_ – please stop fixating on that!”

“What do you want from me, Ben?!” Chad wanted to flinch away and he wanted to drag himself closer and he wanted to be wrapped in Ben’s arms until the unfairness of the world decided to simmer away. “Until three months ago you were all about marrying _Mal_. The only reason that changed was because of Uma’s spell, so don’t pretend to get all heartbroken-”

“Chad,” Ben whined, his fingers curling into the fabric of Chad’s shirt. “Please, _please_. I… I just- I want you, please. I want you more than I wanted Mal-”

“That’s one comfort,” Chad sniffed, trying to swallow down tears. “That you like your lifelong friend more than the girl you’ve known for less than two years. That’s cool.”

“ _Chad_.” Ben was clinging to him, pulling Chad into a rough hug that he had to accept, and as much as it hurt to stand firm, he knew he couldn’t deny Ben this comfort. He couldn’t deny Ben much of anything, and if he kept pressing the matter, Chad knew he would crumble. 

“Ben,” Chad sighed, letting the king have this moment. So many people demanded Ben be strong every day, so many people demanded that he be perfect and it wasn’t fair. As great as Ben was, he was only human, and if he needed to be vulnerable, then Chad would allow him that, because he deserved it. “…this will be for the best,” Chad soothed, remembering the words Ben had said to him before the worst period of his life. “You’ll see. Just… don’t make this harder than it already is.”

Ben’s only response was to sob against his shoulder, which Chad could relate to on an intimate level. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because why would I make things easy? It’s like you don’t even know me at all ;)
> 
> Thanks to everyone for the feedback! I don’t think I can say enough how much I enjoy hearing from you guys, and your support is truly greatly appreciated ^_^
> 
> Also folks, I can’t believe how close to the end we are! Time really does fly. Next update, I’ll be posting the final chapter along with my deleted scenes. I’ll also be posting the first chapter of my next story – or rather, stories. I’ve come upon a period in my rough drafts where my stories diverge into 2 different categories – ones that heavily feature intimate relations and ones that don’t. Because I know the stories in the first category are not everyone’s cup of tea, I’ve decided that I’ll be posting 2 stories at the same time, one from each category, so everyone can have something they enjoy. Like, I’m not going to say that the first category is entirely PWP, because it’s me, and apparently I have to shove feelings and drama and character development into every story I write no matter what it is, but for those of you who prefer to skip intimate scenes, you’ll still get plenty of reading material from me :) 
> 
> Ironically enough, the first chapter of my more story-centric fic actually does feature a lot of intimate stuff, but that’s mostly just to set up the rest of the story. I’m not sure how it’s going to go juggling two stories at once, so please bear with me – and if you could give me a heads up for what you think works and what doesn’t, I’d appreciate it :)
> 
> Story notes:
> 
> Anyone catch my sweet Les Miserables reference? Lol, nerds.
> 
> I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it before, but I got the name Francis from the live-action movie ‘Ever After’, which is not a Disney property but is one of the best adaptations of Cinderella in my opinion. The name Christopher I got from the Rogers and Hammerstein musical Cinderella.
> 
> Ms. Henderson is entirely made up for the purposes of this story, and you can tell how much she matters based on how much thought I put into her name ;)
> 
> Until next time


	9. Saving Auradon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING – Mild Physical Assault in the fourth scene – see endnotes for more details.

It took a long time to get back to the party. Mostly, they were waiting on Ben, who needed a moment to compose himself while Chad patiently bore the weight of his grief. They decided they would weather the rest of the engagement party as best they could before calling things off at a later date (they were so young, it wouldn’t be a surprise for Chad to back out, he was _flighty_ after all). 

There was no need to make a scene now, even if that would be hard. 

Ben, of course, seemed to detest the idea even more than Chad, because Ben was coming off a second round of being enchanted against his will for an extended period of time, and Chad imagined that sort of felt like emotional whiplash. Chad certainly felt put through the ringer, and this was the first time it had happened to him. 

Their walk back to the party was subdued, both of them preoccupied, which was why they didn’t immediately recognize the complete lack of sound until they stumbled upon the first few party guests sprawled unconscious on the ground. 

“What…” Ben jumped into action, likely grateful for the distraction. He jogged over towards his parents, feeling at his mother’s neck before offering Chad a confused look. “She still has a pulse, but it looks like they’re all…”

“Sleeping,” Jane’s voice interrupted, and both of them turned in time to see the young fairy crawl out of the lake, her pretty curls plastered to the side of her head. “It’s an enchantment. Audrey came while you guys were talking, she has Maleficent’s scepter.”

“Shit,” Ben hissed, his hands curling into fists against his side. “Mal told me that needed better security-”

“Feel guilty about that later,” Chad said, already knowing the self-destructive spirals Ben’s mind could take if left unchecked. “For now, we deal with the problem at hand.” He turned back to Jane. “Did she say where she was going?”

“She was looking for you,” Jane said, her brows furrowed in concern. “Queen Belle said you had gotten delayed at Auradon Castle, but I don’t think the defenses Evie put up are going to be enough to hold her off.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Ben echoed with a sigh.

“The others,” Chad said, the pieces slotting into place. “They weren’t late. Audrey probably got to them first.”

Audrey, who Chad hadn’t been able to reach all summer. He tried every avenue available to him – calls, texts, emails, he’d even scheduled a trip to Auroria to see her in person, but the moment she’d heard news of Chad’s status as Gentleman of the Court, she’d retreated back to her private spa and safely escaped the range of most electronics. The spa refused to pass any messages on to her as they would disrupt her ‘good vibes’ or whatever, and while Ben had tried to talk Queen Aurora into helping them, it was slow goings. 

It seemed that King Phillip was sort of pissed about his daughter dating not one, but _two_ guys that didn’t have the decency to dump her. Which was fair, but didn’t do a lot to help them with damage control in situations where scorned ex-girlfriends stole ancient artifacts and tried to take over the entire kingdom. 

“We need to check Evie’s cottage,” Chad decided, because they couldn’t just go on supposition. “And then we’ll go get Uma.”

“Uma?” Jane echoed. “You mean Ursula’s daughter? The one that kidnapped Ben?”

“I knew Carlos was a gossip,” Ben muttered under his breath, and Chad pondered on _that_ comment for a moment before moving on. 

“It’s a long story,” Chad decided. “We’ll tell you in the car, but first-” He turned to Ben. “Go kiss you parents and grandfather awake. Jane, you go get your mom.”

“Um…” Ben blinked at him in confusion. “I don’t have magic, Chad.”

“No, he’s right,” Jane said, already crossing to her mother. “True love can break the enchantment, and I truly love my mom, so…”

A kiss on the cheek, and Fairy Godmother was blinking herself awake with a worried look.

“We don’t have a lot of time to explain,” Chad said as he moved to Captain Anozie. “But we need you to take up magic again for a bit. Teleport these guys somewhere safe to wake them up, and then use your wand to contain Audrey’s curse to Central Auradon.”

He bent down to kiss the captain on the cheek, and was immediately relieved to see the man flutter his eyes awake. Oh good. Chad _was_ capable of love after all. He was beginning to worry.

“True love broke the curse,” Chad explained, giving him the short version. “Could you please help Fairy Godmother while Ben and I try to save the kingdom?”

The captain, ever adaptive, shifted into a slight frown. “My duty is to protect you, your highness.”

“And that’s a duty Jane will take up in your stead, captain,” Chad said sagely, and for the first time in… _ever_ , he actually felt like a prince. He didn’t feel like he was going to fall apart, or that he was getting in the way. For whatever reason, he knew what he was saying was true, and needed to be done. 

Perhaps that was one bright side to Uma’s spell – it had done wonders for Chad’s confidence.

“In that case,” Fairy Godmother spoke up, dusting off her dress as she got to her feet. “She’ll be needing a wand.”

Jane’s gaze went wide. “Mom…”

“Oh, hush dear,” Fairy Godmother said, grinning. “It’s tradition for all mothers to grant their offspring their base wand, and _this-_ ” she explained, pressing her hands together until a bright buildup of light began to spill out from between her palms. “Is yours.”

She opened her hands slowly, revealing a thin, sparkling wand balancing between her palms. Its shape was completely minimal, an unembellished rod, thin and very slight, but it’s coloring was iridescent, a sort of white that seemed to shimmer and sparkle no matter how the light hit it.

“ _Mom_ ,” Jane gasped, retrieving the wand with a look of wonder. “It’s…”

“Perfect,” Fairy Godmother said. “Because it’s yours.”

“Let’s get going,” Chad said once he saw that Ben had his family awake. “Lord Adam, Lady Belle – if you could reach out to the other royals and explain what’s going on, we’d really appreciate it.”

“Try to reach Audrey’s parents,” Ben added. “They might be able to get through to her.”

“Call us if you have any updates,” Chad said, thankful that both Uma _and_ Evie had enchanted his phone to be waterproof. 

They had to hold onto the small blessings now, because the big picture had just gotten that much messier. 

“Let’s go,” Ben repeated, and then they moved out, because he was the king.

It was horrible that Chad felt slightly better when they were leaving the lake, because at least now they had something to distract them from the mess they were in. At least now Chad could apologize to Audrey and let her know what had actually gone wrong. 

He’d never meant to be unfaithful, but then again, he never really meant to hurt anyone, now did he?

He just did it anyway.

It was Chad’s gift.

-:-:-:-:-:-

The stop at Evie’s cottage was brief, and mostly an opportunity to confirm the fact that the VKs weren’t there, though it was possible that Audrey had visited them beforehand based on the signs of general disarray. 

They didn’t find any sleeping bodies though, so that left them retreating to Uma, who was waiting for them outside her cottage the moment they pulled up.

“Something’s happening,” she declared, arms folded across her chest in a defensive slant. “I felt magic aftershocks pulsating at an immense level. You gonna tell me what the hell is going on?”

Ben told her what the hell was going on.

And then Uma cursed.

“Fucking bullshit-ass _bullshit_ ,” she spat, as though she was not partially responsible for this siege on Central Auradon. “Okay, if Mal and the others turned tail then they probably retreated to look for an alternative solution. There’s not much that can combat Maleficent’s scepter.”

“At least, not in Central Auradon,” Chad said, thinking about the borders that were getting closed down as they spoke.

Uma shot him an odd look, like she hadn’t expected him to contribute anything useful. “Right. And if we’re going off of what Mal knows about…” she trailed off with a thoughtful look. “They’re going for Hades’ Ember.”

“Hades’ _what_ now?” Chad asked, but Uma was already stomping her way over to their car.

“Hades’ Ember,” Uma repeated. “It’s a powerful Grecian artifact that Hades created to- never mind the history lesson, long story short, those dumbasses went back to the Isle.”

“Of course,” Ben sighed, his shoulders slumping as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “What adventure wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the _Isle_?”

“Am I detecting sarcasm, your majesty?” Uma asked, her voice full of mirth. 

“It’s been a long day,” Chad sighed, he and Jane sharing a look before flopping into the backseat, the young fairy cradling her new wand close.

-:-:-:-:-:-

They arrived at the outskirts of the Isle just in time to see Mal and the others having a standoff with two pirates who, based on their descriptions, happened to be Harry and Gil.

There was also the fact that Uma said, “Fuck yeah, my boys.” when they pulled up to confirm this, but that was merely a detail. 

“Ben,” Mal greeted, her voice hard as she split her attention between the king and Harry. “Do you know what’s- _Uma?_ ”

“Yeah, yeah,” Uma dismissed with a lazy wave of her hand, walking past Mal’s crew and into the open arms of _her boys_. “I’ve been a guest of his majesty this whole time.”

“It’s a long story that we’ll tell in the car,” Chad said, motioning everyone towards their modest four-seater. Some people were going to be sitting in laps, there was no way around it. “Now let’s go, we’re burning daylight. Team magic – start tracking Audrey so we know where to go.”

“Are you okay?” Jay asked when everyone started loading into the car, Ben taking his position behind the wheel again.

“Just _peachy_ ,” Chad lied, and Jay had the decency to look chastised for having even asked. 

It was, of course, Chad’s ex-girlfriend that was running around, trying to destroy the kingdom.

Jay didn’t say anything after that, which was probably for the best. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad ended up with Jane and Carlos in his lap on the ride to some remote cottage in Auradon, because apparently he was an overachiever.

Jay sat in the passenger seat with Evie balanced in his lap, which left Gil in the middle backseat, Uma perched in his lap like a queen, and a scowling Mal in an equally scowling Harry’s lap by the right-side door, both of them doing their very best to ignore each other. 

They couldn’t get to Audrey’s hideout soon enough. 

“We’ll go first,” Mal said, holding what was probably Hades’ Ember up in front of her.

“Whatever, poser.” Uma rolled her eyes, cradling her shell necklace between her hands. 

The others didn’t say anything, Jane readying her wand while Harry and Gil got their swords ready, Evie and Jay seeming totally armed with empty hands alone, a visible sort of magic swirling around their fingertips. Even Carlos had some sort of stun gun thing cobbled together from spare parts, which left everyone else closing in on the dilapidated building while Chad and Ben hung back like the super delegators they were.

“So…” Chad began awkwardly, watching the group disappear around the bend. They’d parked about a hundred yards away, so as not to spook Audrey. “This is fun.”

“ _Chad_ ,” Ben sighed, his brows furrowed together.

“Save your guilt, Ben,” Chad urged, frowning. “It isn’t going to do us any good. We both fucked up, and Audrey paid the price for it.”

“I’m glad you acknowledged that much,” Audrey’s voice said, a murderous dirge echoing from the woods, and that was about all the warning Chad got before he found himself flung across the clearing, his back hitting a tree with a hard _thud_. 

He was still blinking away his disorientation when he felt himself lifted by an invisible force, like a specter had a sort of grip on his chest and was using it to dangle him in the air, shoving him against the bark of the tree.

“Audrey!” Ben cried, struggling from where he was pinned against the hood of the car by seemingly nothing. “Audrey, please stop this. It isn’t Chad’s fault!”

“It was _always_ Chad’s fault!” Audrey snarled, crossing to the blond prince with a ferocious look in her eyes. “Chad with his _best friendship_ and stupid _laugh_ you wouldn’t shut up about and how _perfectly perfect_ he is. I could never compete with him, and you wouldn’t even _touch him!_ ”

She whirled around with a furious growl, jerking the scepter down in a hard motion, making the tree next to Chad explode into a million pieces. He just barely managed to close his eyes in time to protect himself from wooden shrapnel.

She held a hand up, and immediately Chad felt a vice closing around his throat, that same invisible force choking him until he was running out of air, struggling against the tree with weak croaks.

“Audrey, _stop!_ ” Ben cried, sounding legitimately broken up over this, which might be a remnant of his enchantment or just an indication of how painfully nice he was. “Please-”

“You want me to stop?” Audrey asked, weakening the grip on Chad’s throat enough so he could breathe. “You want me to put the kingdom back in order? Marry me, Ben. Do what you were supposed to do the first time.”

“Audrey…” Ben looked so very pained. “Audrey, you don’t want to marry me. That’s why I started dating you in the first place. You _knew_ that. You knew that we were using each other-”

“Shut up!” Audrey snapped, and with another jerked motion, Chad found himself thrown to the ground in a graceless heap. 

“You don’t like me!” Ben pressed. “I don’t think you like guys at all-”

“ _Shut up!_ ” Audrey repeated, yanking Chad across the clearing so she could wrap a hand around his throat herself. “Shut up, _shut up-_ ”

“B-Ben,” Chad gasped, blinking tears of pain out of his eyes. “Just… marry her.”

The words seemed to make everything stop, make Audrey stop, make Ben’s pleading expression freeze on his face. 

“What?” the king asked, helplessly confused.

“You- you were gonna marry her a-anyway,” Chad managed to rasp. “Just… do that.”

“ _No_ ,” Ben said, eyes hard and insistent, forgetting the number one rule when dealing with hostile forces when you were at a disadvantage and _directly rebelling_ against them. “No, I’m not doing that. We’re going to get married-”

“For _fuck’s_ sake, Ben,” Chad gasped, wincing when Audrey curled her fingers through his hair and started _yanking_.

“Stupid,” Audrey hissed. “You always make him so _stupid-_ ”

“It’s a gift,” Chad shot back, completely at a loss for the situation. 

Fortunately, that was about the time the others came charging back down the path, likely drawn by the sound of Audrey’s destruction.

“Auradon Prep, midnight,” Audrey hissed, abruptly letting go of Chad. “We finish this once and for all. Winner gets Ben.”

“You can just have him,” Chad groaned, but it didn’t matter, because Audrey was teleporting away in a flash of light.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Mal hissed when she drew closer. “What did she say?”

“She and Ben are going to get married at Auradon Prep come midnight,” Chad groaned, accepting Jay’s hand up off the ground. “So that’s exciting.”

“…let’s regroup,” Ben offered, and for a lack of anything else to do, they retreated to Audrey’s cabin. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad wished he had broken Uma’s enchantment like, yesterday. Then he could have called Audrey and apologized and made Ben apologize to her because she really didn’t deserve to have two guys be enchanted away from her. That was just super shitty. 

They still hadn’t announced that to the others, either. As far as they knew, Chad and Ben were still happily engaged. 

That was… that would be a later problem, Chad guessed. They could only tackle one thing at a time.

“I guess we’ll rest here, for now,” Uma sighed, looking around the abandoned cottage. “Do whatever last-minute heart-to-hearts you want before we take care of this chick for good.”

“Non-lethally,” Chad reminded her, and he wasn’t super comforted by the dismissive wave she gave him before she went off to cuddle Gil and Harry. 

They broke apart after that, because they were all tired. They’d been running around all day and the kingdom was either asleep or turned to stone (Fairy Godmother had texted with that update) which was just sort of the worst engagement present in the world. 

Which had probably been the point.

Chad saw Ben eye him hopefully but Chad just- couldn’t. He couldn’t, so he turned and walked towards the group closest to him. That happened to be Evie and Jay, the taller teen sharpening his knife while Evie talked to him in a low, soothing voice. 

It made Chad _hurt_ , because they’d been his once, and not through magic or because their first choice had been enchanted, but because they’d liked him, for whatever reason, and then he’d come up short. 

He’d never gotten an answer as to why though, and that made Uma’s words ring in his ear. Perhaps it was time to have a heart-to-heart. After all, Audrey’s next spell could kill them.

“Hey,” Chad said, the two of them tensing as he drew close. “I um… I know this is in the past, but since we could get killed by my ex-girlfriend by the end of the night, I wanted to ask why… why did you say no when I asked you to coronation?”

The question seemed to catch Evie off guard, and Mal and Ben, who had been lingering nearby, paused as well, waiting to see her answer.

Evie’s brows furrowed in a confused expression. “I didn’t say no, Chad. I said maybe.”

“Right.” Chad nodded, feeling that old hurt all over again.

He waited for her to elaborate, and it took him a few moments to realize she wasn’t going to. 

In that time, Ben cleared his throat, wandering towards the conversation he had obviously not been invited to. “Chad… maybe can mean yes or no.”

“What?” That didn’t seem right, but when Chad looked at the others they all seemed to know this, so Ben wasn’t lying. “It can? I…” He turned back to Evie. “I’m so sorry. I thought it just meant ‘no’.” 

The word had never meant yes for him. He was still struggling to understand that it _could_. 

This made Ben’s expression even worse than before. “Chad…”

“Did…” Evie interrupted, thankfully. “Did you think I was turning you down?”

Chad felt himself blush. “Yeah, and then you went on about _different circumstances_ and I thought- I mean, I thought you were breaking up with me. And that’s- if you wanted to do that, that was totally fair-” 

“ _Chad_ ,” Evie said, and then he had an armful of princess that was doing her best to squeeze the life out of him. “ _No_. I’m sorry, I should have explained it better. I said maybe because I wanted you to ask me _and_ Jay, not just me.”

“I… I could have done that?” Chad looked over her shoulder at Jay, whose expression was unreadable. “Did you- was that what you wanted?”

That seemed to break the dam for Jay, who sighed, sheathing his knife so he could wrap himself around both of them. “Yes, you nimrod. Why did you think we were so upset when you started dating Audrey?”

“I don’t know,” Chad admitted in a rush.

“But more importantly,” Evie said, pulling back so she could stare Chad in the eye. “Why would you think I’d want to break up with you? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

The words made something snap within Chad, and at once he found himself crying – helpless, ugly tears, because that was a question he’d been asking himself all his life.

“I don’t know,” he gasped. “But everyone always leaves so I thought- I thought that you were- you wanted that _too-_ ”

“Chad,” Evie soothed, tucking his head against her shoulder so he could cry. Jay wrapped himself around Chad’s back and it was- it was nice, to be held between them again. Nice to feel _loved_. “Sweetheart, we’re so sorry.”

“What are you waiting for, Benjamin?” Mal drawled. “Comfort your fiancé.”

She might have shoved him forward, but Chad flinched away, as much as he could with Evie and Jay standing so close. “A-About that…”

“Chad…” Ben said quietly, like a warning, but this was important.

“Ben was just enchanted to l-like me,” Chad sniffed. “We broke the spell this morning. And to be fair, everything worked out, but-”

“Who would have…” Mal dropped off with a snarl. “ _Uma!_ ”

“What, poser?” Uma drawled from across the room, where she was indeed holding court over Gil and Harry. “What are you shouting about now?”

“You fucking _love enchanted_ Ben and Chad?!” Mal growled, storming across the room so she could loom over Uma, sending Carlos and Jane scattering. “You did it at fucking Cotillion, didn’t you? We all thought it was weird that Ben and Chad finally snapped out of their _whatever_ to be like, blissfully functional for once.”

“Why are you yelling?” Uma asked, unaffected by the accusation. “Far as I’m concerned, I did them a favor. Even if it was on accident.”

“And how would this be a favor?” Chad asked. “You subverted our will with your own.” 

“To glorious results,” Uma deadpanned, as though this was obvious. “Like, I didn’t get the deets on that until later-” From _who_ , was Chad’s question. “-but I think it’s pretty cool that I managed to enchant the two guys that had been tiptoeing around each other for their entire lives.”

“That’s not true,” Chad sniffed. “Ben was dating Audrey-”

“I only started dating Audrey so I could keep hanging out with _you!_ ” Ben snapped, and the words seemed to rock the entire room, making them all fall into an abrupt silence because Ben rarely yelled like that. But now his chest was heaving and his gaze was desperate and Chad was struggling to understand what he’d said. “My parents were worried about us- I don’t know, latching onto each other again, and I didn’t want them to force us apart so I started dating Audrey to make _them_ happy, but mostly I did it so I could be with you again.”

That was… a lot, and Ben wasn’t finished, the king taking a step closer to press into Chad’s space.

“Only you wouldn’t… you wouldn’t be my friend the way you used to be because you were so scared I’d go away again,” Ben said. “So I just- I took everything you had to offer me, just like I’ll _always_ take whatever you have to offer me, because I’m greedy for you, Chadwick James. I really am.” 

The words were possessive from Ben, and not at all in line with his standard kindness and gentility, and that shook Chad, almost as much as the hungry look in Ben’s eyes. 

“There isn’t anything noble about it,” Ben admitted. “About how much I want you by my side or need you in my life and when I got pushed in that lake this afternoon, I wasn’t even upset, _I wasn’t_ , because it was you, and I’ve wanted to marry you for almost as long as I’ve known you.”

That was… that was a lot of information and Chad was shaking, perhaps sobbing again as Evie and Jay pulled away just enough to nudge Chad towards Ben. 

“ _Ben_ ,” he croaked, his fingers curling into the king’s torn jacket. “Ben, Ben, _Ben_ , please don’t- _please_ don’t go, I- I knew I’d- I’d be whatever you needed if you’d just stay and I didn’t want to be alone again and- and it’s not just- just that you kept me from being lonely I just- I love you, so much.” He sobbed when he said it, shaking against Ben’s shoulder. “I never wanted to admit it because I knew I couldn’t have you, because you’re too smart and kind and funny for someone like me-”

“Lies,” Ben hissed against his hair, wrapping an arm around Chad’s waist. “Horrible lies. You’re wonderful Chad, and you deserve so many amazing things that you haven’t gotten because your family’s a giant piece of shit and didn’t allow you to get the cherishment you deserve.”

“Damn right,” Evie said, and then she was hugging them too, she and Jay both.

It startled a watery laugh from Ben. “Oh, fuck – you did not know how much I hated you guys for dating Chad. I just- I wanted to _be_ you so badly-”

“Believe me,” Mal drawled from across the room. “We know.”

“Pretty sure the whole school knows,” Carlos said from his spot beside Jane.

“Audrey knew,” Mal said. “That’s why she bit up Chad’s neck so much. She was trying to lure Ben into dating both of them.”

“ _What?_ ” Chad had not known that. At all. “And all the…”

“Yep,” Mal nodded sagely.

“You weren’t upset?”

“No,” Mal hummed. “Ben and I were a great team, but I… I knew I didn’t feel for him what he felt for you. I tried, I just- _we_ just didn’t have it in us, and that’s okay.”

That was- _wow_ , a big weight off Chad’s shoulders, because he’d felt guilty this whole time. He thought he’d stolen Mal’s boyfriend, but she really had been done with Ben. They just didn’t work together, and she didn’t want to be his Lady of the Court. Nor should she have to be. 

“Please don’t break our engagement,” Ben gasped, tilting his forehead against Chad’s as he stared at him with big, wet eyes. “Please. I know we’ve been enchanted these last few months, but I think I’ve been horribly obvious about how much I need you in my life. Like, remember when we were eleven and I asked you to be my princess?”

“ _Cripes_ ,” he heard Uma grumble, but Chad ignored her because he’d thought Ben had forgotten all about that.

“I think about that _all the time_ ,” Ben gasped, cupping Chad’s cheek. “And under the enchantment I was so happy, because I had it. So please-”

“ _Yes_ ,” Chad gasped, tilting forward until _he_ could kiss Ben. And perhaps it wasn’t the best kiss, because they’d both been sort of crying and Chad was a bit snotty but it was Ben, and enchanted or not, Ben kisses were still the best kisses.

“Halleluiah,” Harry drawled. “The two guys who were engaged to each other are _still_ engaged to each other.”

“Shut up, Harry,” Uma and Mal said at the same time, and that was enough to have Chad giggling – helpless, happy sounds. 

“Um…” Chad said when he pulled back from Ben. “Can we marry Jay and Evie too? I mean-” He turned to them. “If you want-”

Evie interrupted him with a kiss he was pretty sure counted as filthy, and when he pulled back, Jay was repeating the process on Ben, so that was probably fine.

“Yes, yes – I’ll pass a law for it,” Ben said, smiling and laughing as they all got in one big group hug. “We will pave the way.”

“And Evie can be the queen she was always meant to be,” Mal chirped, looking happy for once.

“And you will be too,” Uma said with a groan when she slid onto her feet. “Once we get your girlfriend to stop terrorizing the kingdom. Now buck up, everyone. We’re moving out.”

“Audrey is _not_ my girlfriend,” Mal sputtered, but she was also blushing pretty heavily, so-

“I have seen you kiss Audrey,” Chad said observationally. “So um… I’m pretty sure she likes you.”

“More than us, at any rate,” Ben said, grinning.

“That doesn’t make her my _girlfriend_ ,” Mal hissed, storming out the front door of the cottage.

An hour later, she may or may not have been eating her words because Audrey didn’t hate Chad so much as his happiness, and she found her own in the arms of one Mal Bertha, who wasn’t going to let her girlfriend go power crazy under the whiles of her mom’s scepter.

“So,” Uma said later when they were huddling in their respective pairs outside Auradon Prep. “I guess this is what a happy ending feels like.”

“Says you guys,” Audrey muttered, burying her face in Mal’s shoulder. “I’m going to be arrested for going crazy and enchanting the kingdom.”

“Or,” Chad countered. “You were susceptible to the scepter’s influence due to your mother’s curse, which will prompt us to establish better controls for a very powerful mystic artifact that probably shouldn’t be in a museum in the first place.”

“Perhaps a vault,” Evie hummed, leaning against Chad’s side. “With Fairy Godmother’s wand and my mom’s mirror.”

“And my mom’s spell book,” Mal added. “Some things don’t need to be out for temptation.”

“Still,” Audrey sighed. “Sorry about ruining your engagement party.”

“Eh, it’s fine,” Chad decided. “We need to throw a new one anyway since we’re going to marry Evie and Jay as well.”

He expected some sort of squawked response, but instead Audrey shared a look with Mal before she rolled their eyes. “Guess they figured that situation out then.”

Mal poked her girlfriend’s side. “What situation?”

“The one where Chad thought Evie dumped him when she did not dump him.” Audrey frowned again. “…I may not have clarified that situation out of horrible jealousy.”

“We figured it out in the end,” Evie hummed. “That’s the important part.”

“Awww, that’s great!” Gil chirped, and Chad had known the blond for like, two hours and he sort of loved him to pieces based on those interactions alone. “You guys will all be kings and queens and stuff!”

“I mean…” Carlos trailed off with a shrug. “Technically Uma’s a princess of Atlantica.”

“And I’m making Jane a princess of Sardinia,” Chad declared. “Because she’s my sister, and I can.”

“You should make Dizzy one too,” Evie said over Jane’s surprised squawk.

“Without question,” Chad agreed, and Ben just sort of laughed this relieved sounding thing, nuzzling into the people he got to call his own.

“I love you guys,” Evie giggled, leaning into their joint hold. 

“Yeah,” Ben said, gazing at all of them with an open adoration. “I love you guys too.”

And that, wonderfully enough, was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fuck it, everyone gets to be a princess, lol. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone for coming along on this adventure! I’m pretty happy with how this one turned out, and I’m grateful for all y’all’s support and enthusiasm. If you’re interested in reading some more Descendants stuff, I will be posting the first chapter of my next two fics shortly – ['You're Gonna Be My Bruise'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29438385/chapters/72314529), which is the one that more heavily features intimate relations, and ['The Sprout and the Bean'](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29440224/chapters/72318687), which is more plot heavy :)
> 
> Story notes:
> 
> Also known as the chapter where Chad and Ben drive everywhere in Central Auradon.
> 
> Also. ALSO. Do you know how hard it is to write a story without using the word ‘maybe’? It was a definite challenge. Like, not one I want to do again, but a challenge nonetheless. I know I said that before, but I wanted to reiterate my anxiety in ensuring there were no extraneous 'maybes' ;)
> 
> I have decided that Audrey’s evil powers include Dark Jedi tricks, ergo she can fling people around with her mind.
> 
> Jane’s wand is modeled after the wand Fairy Godmother had in the original animated Cinderella, which is essentially just a sparkly stick.
> 
> I acknowledge that this is very much a hyper-romanticization of love at first sight, and relationships in general take a lot of hard work to maintain, but I wanted to shamelessly indulge in some fairytale romance, which was how this story came to be. 
> 
> While it is not mentioned in the animated movie, in the Little Mermaid musical, they brush on the fact that Ursula was King Triton’s sister.
> 
> WARNING – Assault – Queen of Mean Audrey attacks Chad in the fourth scene, and while it doesn’t get very graphic, he does get tossed around a bit, and a tiny bit choked out. Again, nothing extreme, but if you would prefer to skip that, look for:
> 
> “Save your guilt, Ben,” Chad urged, frowning. “It isn’t going to do us any good. We both fucked up, and Audrey paid the price for it.” 
> 
> You can jump back in at: 
> 
> “Stupid,” Audrey hissed. “You always make him so stupid-”
> 
> Basically, Audrey gives her ultimatum to Ben about marrying her to undo her spells, he turns her down while also revealing his suspicion that she is very much gay. 
> 
> Until next time. 
> 
> -:-:-:-:-:-
> 
> “Oh, please don't go—we'll eat you up—we love you so!” – Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are


	10. Deleted Scenes

** The Original Cotillion Entrance **

Notes: _So before I got on the train of having Ben and Chad be obliviously in love idiots with each other, I wrote a version of the Cotillion entrance where everyone reacted to Chad and Ben’s declaration of love the way they would if their interactions were solely like those in the Descendants’ movie canon, with a dash of maybe-they-kissed-one-time and then super pretended they didn’t like it. Because apparently I cannot help myself._

-:-:-:-:-:-

Eventually, they had to end the first dance with a bow, and with that they moved off to mingle. Or they would have, if the crowd didn’t seem so very confused.

As what was likely expected, it was Lonnie and Evie who found them first.

“Huh,” Lonnie said, looking them over. “So you finally got over your stupid?”

“What?” Evie asked, looking between the three of them with a concerned expression. “Was this a thing?”

“Sort of.” Lonnie shrugged. “Their parents were super against it though, because… you know.”

“We’re both guys,” Ben said, wrapping an arm around Chad’s waist. “But I’m king now, and I’m going to love whoever I want.”

“Well, fuck,” Lonnie laughed. “Good for you guys. I mean,” she amended at Evie’s look. “It isn’t great for Mal…”

“They broke up,” Chad said, feeling defensive. “I mean, that _did_ happen, right?”

Evie tensed, but didn’t actually say anything, which meant Chad probably was right after all.

“What about Audrey?” Lonnie asked. “Weren’t you dating her, Chad?”

“Well…” Chad flushed. “I was trying to. I still hadn’t passed her test yet.”

“Which worked out well for me,” Ben said, practically preening. “I should thank her unrealistic standards and inability to see how wonderful you are.”

“I’m really _not_ ,” Chad groaned, hiding his face in his hands.

“Are too,” Ben countered, nuzzling his face against Chad’s neck. “Or else I wouldn’t love you as much.”

“ _Ben_.”

“So what is this?” That was Carlos’ annoyed voice, and when Chad looked up, both Carlos and Jane had joined their group. “What the hell, Ben? You’re dating _Chad_ now?”

He said it like an insult, which Chad didn’t hold against him, but Ben did, if the low growl that spilled from his throat was any indication. “Lay off, Carlos.”

“Whoa there, Ben,” Lonnie said, holding both her hands up in appeasement. “He didn’t mean anything by it-”

“I super did,” Carlos grumbled.

“-he just hasn’t been here to see your epic, messy… _thing_ unfurl over the years like we have.”

“This is a thing?” Carlos asked, looking to Evie, who nodded regretfully.

It made Chad feel small again, but like, he got it. He’d already told Ben no one liked him. 

Well, no _nobility_ liked him. The common man of Sardinia thought he was the bee’s knees.

“It’s a thing,” Ben said, his voice hard and possessive. “And I’m sorry I didn’t break it to the public easier, but after what happened with Mal…” Chad still needed to get the details on that, because Ben had gone to the _Isle_ apparently and like, that was not a thing done lightly. “I just wanted to live my life, you know?”

“Sure,” Carlos drawled. “And if you can’t do that with a strong, competent person, you may as well do it with Chad.”

“Seriously, lay off, Carlos,” Lonnie huffed this time. “Ben’s right. Mal dumped him, and maybe it was because she was feeling overwhelmed-”

“And you think Chad could do better?” Carlos pressed, though the question seemed genuine. “If _Mal_ struggled-”

“I um… I was trained for this,” Chad spoke up quietly, wishing this was going better. “I’m not saying I’ll be brilliant, or anything-”

“That’s good, because you probably won’t be,” Carlos muttered, and then Ben _growled_.

Like, a really low, menacing one.

It was enough to have Chad grabbing Ben’s collar, dragging his head towards him before he could do something else that was un-kingly. “Ben, calm down. It doesn’t matter what he says, what matters is what _you_ want, okay? I told you there was going to be negative feedback.”

“I know,” Ben sighed, looking genuinely regretful. “I was just really hoping that there wouldn’t be.”

“And there _won’t_ be,” Lonnie said, nudging Evie and Carlos away from them. “At least, not from us. Anymore. I’ll um- I’ll just go talk to Mal…”

“Evie,” Ben interrupted before they could completely retreat. “Should I… should I talk to her? I know she deserves it-”

“Maybe just- let us break this to her, Ben,” Evie said, her smile tight. “You guys just enjoy your night, okay?”

“Okay,” Ben said to their retreating backs.

Chad felt… he didn’t know how he felt, but he was pretty sure it wasn’t good.

“I um… I’m pretty sure I just lost you a bunch of friends,” Chad noted quietly, unable to help himself.

Ben’s expression was serious, but when he turned to look at Chad, he didn’t seem to have any regrets. “They weren’t very good friends then, were they?” 

“You don’t…” ‘ _Regret it?_ ’ Chad did not say.

Ben seemed to get it anyway. He leaned forward, pulling Chad close to him until he could lean their foreheads together. “ _Never_ ,” he promised.

And that was that. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

** Chapter 2 – The Original Kissing Practice Proposal **

Notes: _So before I settled on the ‘love at first sight’ trope, I had a version of this scene where Ben talked Chad into practicing kissing with him, not for any real malicious reason, but mostly for the sake of curiosity. There were pieces of it that I salvaged to be used in the actual story, but below is the original version of that scene._

-:-:-:-:-:-

“I have an idea,” Ben said, bouncing up to where Chad was perched on top of a boulder, trying to shade in a picture of the setting sun with the pastels Queen Belle had gotten him.

“You got a better idea for how to catch fish?” Chad asked, because that had been Ben’s latest mission. The other prince had been adamant he could spear one from the shallows, but Chad (who’d tried to do that back in Sardinia) already knew that wouldn’t work out. It was one of the few times he had one up on Ben.

“What? No, I’m done with that,” Ben said, and Chad wished he could be half as composed about his own personal failures. Ben just sort of let them slide off him like water. “I was thinking, we’re gonna have to like, start looking at princesses soon.”

“You don’t do that now?” Chad asked, genuinely confused. “Like, do you purposefully not look at them?”

That seemed really inconvenient.

“No, Chad,” Ben said with the same usual patience he used when Chad was missing the point, but like, in an understandable way. “I meant _romantically_.”

“What?” Chad scrunched his nose. “Gross, dude. We’re only thirteen.”

“I know!” Ben looked just as distressed as Chad felt, which was a bit reassuring. It was nice to know they were on the same page. “But like, my dad says this is when we’re supposed to _test the waters_ by like, being a gentleman and holding hands, and that means _eventually_ we’re going to be dating.”

“Wow,” Chad said, somewhat overwhelmed. “I didn’t realize it was happening so fast.”

Chad received any and all parental wisdom secondhand through Ben, because his own family was too busy for him. So if King Adam said it was time, it _must_ be time.

“Tell me about it,” Ben sighed, slumping against Chad’s side. They did this, sometimes, but it was fine. Friends cuddled, Chad assumed, because his only friend was Ben, and Ben cuddled. “Anyway, I was thinking… I don’t really know what to do.”

Oh, _wow_. If Ben didn’t know what to do, then maybe it wasn’t so bad that Chad was also lost.

“Me either,” Chad admitted. “They say my dad is super charming, but what if that didn’t get passed on?”

“It got passed on,” Ben assured him, and just like every other time he offered Chad a casual compliment, the blond flushed. “Anyway, see, I was freaking out about this, but then like- I had a thought.”

Chad perked up. He liked it when Ben had a thought because that meant Ben had a _plan_ , and Ben’s plans were just about always good. “Yeah?”

Ben grinned. “See, if we’re worried about doing something well, maybe we can just practice on each other.”

“P- _Practice_?” Chad stuttered, feeling his face heat up. “Like, practice the stuff we’d do with _girls_?”

“Exactly,” Ben chirped.

“But- but we’re _boys_ ,” Chad whispered, looking around as though he was afraid someone would hear them, but of course they were the only ones at the beach. “Ben, we can’t- we can’t do that type of stuff.”

“Sure, we can!” Ben cheered. “Look, I like you and you like me-”

“ _Duh_ ,” Chad said, because Ben was like, the best human ever. Of _course_ he liked him.

“-so why wouldn’t I want to hold your hand?” Ben continued. “Or um- kiss you? You’re like, the person I trust more than anyone else.”

“R-Really?” Chad flushed, because he hadn’t known that. Chad might be an awkward prince but Ben was _Ben_ , who was tall and kind and really, really smart.

“Really,” Ben confirmed with a grin. “So uh… what do you think?”

“About-” Chad swallowed. “You want to um… hold hands?”

“And kiss,” Ben said, and Chad felt a little bit better about the flush that dusted the bridge of his nose, because it wasn’t just Chad who was feeling awkward. “And that way if we want to use this on princesses-”

“ _If?_ ” Chad asked, blinking in confusion.

Ben’s blush darkened. “I mean… if we just like doing it with each other, why would we do it with other people?”

“Because I’m not a princess?” Chad offered. 

Sometimes he wished he _was_ a princess. He was pretty sure those were liked more than princes. And then he could wear his mom’s pretty shoes. He’d ask to try them on once, and then his grandfather hadn’t spoken to him for like four months, so obviously he had done something wrong.

“I don’t want you to be a princess,” Ben declared, assuaging Chad’s concern before he could even voice it, because that was what Ben did. “I want you to be Chad. And you _are_ Chad, so I want to kiss you and hold your hand… if that’s okay. We don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

Oh, yeah. Chad was beginning to understand why Mrs. Potts cooed at Ben for being _such a gentleman_ all the time.

“Um… I um- I’d like that,” Chad whispered, afraid to raise his voice. “But… won’t we get in trouble?”

He was pretty sure guys didn’t normally kiss guys. At least, not that he’d seen.

Ben dismissed this with a huff. “It will be our secret,” he said. “No one can get mad if it’s a secret.”

“ _You’re so smart_ ,” Chad whispered, totally in awe, and he got to witness that pretty flush spill down Ben’s neck.

“I have my moments,” he said, and then he just- held Chad’s hand.

It probably wasn’t great, because Chad’s fingers were covered in colored dust from his pastels, but Ben didn’t seem to mind. He seemed happy to wrap himself around Chad’s back, watching the blond finish his picture before they had to go back to the castle.

“…is this okay?” Ben asked, nuzzling Chad’s shoulder.

“Y-Yeah,” Chad said, nodding like the awkward doof he was. 

This was- yeah, this was pretty cool. He liked this a lot. 

Ben had the best ideas sometimes. 

-:-:-:-:-:-

** Chapter 4 – Original Chad Gets to Know the Team Scene **

Notes: _So this was my original take of Chad getting to know the team after he was released from the hospital. It had the unfortunate problem of solving far too many issues to be good for my drama-demanding mind, so it was inevitably cut. But if you want some supportive bros being bros, this is the scene for you :)_

-:-:-:-:-:-

Chad wasn’t sure what kind of magic Ben had worked while he was gone, but when he returned to his classes no one asked him any questions about his two-week excursion. There was also the benefit of having _Ben_ by his side again, Ben waiting outside his dorm room to walk Chad to his locker, Ben letting Chad sit by him at meal times, Ben joking with him in the locker room. It was everything Chad had hoped school to be and more, and he tried very hard not to shatter the line he had crossed before by being too clingy. 

Overall, people were more surprised by Chad’s sudden involvement in school than they were his disappearance. Well, most people.

“Okay, I gotta ask,” Aziz spoke up when they were prepping to go out to Tourney practice. “Just to clear the air, this is Chad – your best friend since you were eight.”

He aimed the statement at Ben, who nodded uneasily, his brows furrowing together in that unhappy way of his.

“Okay,” Aziz repeated. “So if he’s your best friend, why have we been ignoring him for the past year and a half?”

“Um.” Ben flushed, and Chad felt bad for him, but he also didn’t want to interrupt because being ignored had _hurt_. “My mom was afraid I would limit his social development, or something.”

“Dude,” James scoffed. “You ignoring him did that.”

“Dick move, man,” Malvin murmured, shaking his head, and it was all sort of weird that all these guys were like, criticizing Ben. Didn’t they know who he was?

“I wasn’t _happy_ about it,” Ben pressed, his face getting all heated, and that was enough to make Chad smile, because at least Ben had missed him.

“Still,” Aziz tutted, then dismissed Ben in favor of focusing on Chad. “Sorry we’ve been assholes to you. It was weird, ‘cuz we’ve heard stories about you from Ben about all the stuff you did over the summer-” Hopefully not _all_ the stuff. “-and then you were finally in school with us and the guy wouldn’t go near you, so…”

“We followed like _sheeeep_ ,” Malvin bah-ed, earning a round of laughter from the rest of the team.

“Point is,” Aziz continued. “We will now judge you on your own merits.”

Chad felt his stomach drop, but he only experienced the inlaid panic for about a second before Ben was elbowing him. “They are very good merits.”

Chad sent him a doubtful look. “I’m pretty sure my dad disagrees with you.”

“Well, your dad’s an _asshole_ ,” Ben growled, making the teammates closest to them tense in surprise. 

“Dude,” Aziz leaned in, seemingly eager for details. “What did he do?”

“He’s a neglectful piece of shit,” Ben hissed, glaring at his Tourney cleats.

Chad sighed. “…we don’t talk a lot.”

Or ever.

“Come to think of it,” Malvin began. “I don’t remember seeing you guys at Parents’ Day.”

Ben tensed, and Chad wasn’t sure if that was because _he_ tensed, because Parents’ Day was always pretty awful for him. “I waited for him the first Parents’ Day, but he never showed. I sort of gave up after that.”

Ben’s hands curled against his knees. “How long did you wait?”

“Um…” Chad did not want to answer that question. He felt stupid thinking about how hopeful he’d been. “…twelve hours?”

There was a moment of silence.

“ _Wow_ ,” Aziz said. “Yeah, Ben’s right, your dad sucks. Hey, you can spend next Parents’ Day with me and my parents,” Aziz continued, the abrupt shift in topics throwing Chad for a loop. “My mom already likes you since you’re such a good blocker.”

Chad _did_ guard Aziz’s back a lot. “You don’t mind?”

“Fuck no, man.” The prince grinned. “You deserve to show off your accomplishments too.”

“Oh… wow.” Chad smiled, and it didn’t even feel terrified. “Thanks, Aziz.”

“And if _his_ parents get boring, you could always hang out with me and my mum,” Malvin continued. “Me dad always has to go to me sister’s school, so ye could round out our threesome.”

“Um…” Chad blinked, overwhelmed with the options. Just- overwhelmed.

Ben seemed to get that, and rose to rest a hand on Chad’s shoulders, squeezing it carefully. “It’s okay, Chad. You’ve got options now.”

“Awesome options that appreciate you,” Aziz said, and it even seemed like it was true.

-:-:-:-:-:-

** What Would Have Happened If Chad Didn’t Apologize to Evie **

Notes: _So originally I was going to do more with Chad’s compulsive tendencies, which led to the scene below. Ultimately, I decided to go a different direction. Be warned, the scene below does mention mild anxiety attacks and compulsions_. _This was written before I decided Chad would be rooming by himself, so we get a cameo from roommate Doug._

-:-:-:-:-:-

Of course Chad had expected some kind of consequence to making Evie do his homework and then ratting on her, because he’d done a bad thing. And sure, it was a bad thing in the search of a good thing, but that didn’t make it _justified_. So he’d expected to get detention and he’d served it, worried that he might get a pointed email from his grandfather’s assistant but luckily the detention seemed to have escaped her notice. Sometimes, Chad really could catch a break. 

With his sentence done, he’d expected that to be the end of it.

He’d been wrong, of course, because he was dumb by nature, or maybe just too much of an optimist.

The Monday after his served detention, Chad had walked back into his dorm room to find that half of it – _his_ half, not Doug’s – had been totally trashed. 

It wasn’t the stuff Chad minded losing, so much. He had things that suited functions but not things that held sentimental value because those were locked safe back in Sardinia, where no one could ever hurt them, but this-

This was a mess. A _mess_. The pillows had been ripped and were spilling feathers everywhere and the mirror had been shattered so that it rained broken pieces onto his dresser and ground. The desk had been flipped and his laptop with it, and he didn’t need to touch it to know that the screen was shattered, that his lamp was broken, and all of that was _bad_ and he’d have to replace it but at the moment Chad couldn’t get past the fact that it was a mess, there was a mess, he couldn’t have a _mess_. Being neat was one of Chad’s few redeeming qualities. His nannies had loved that about him, how he could move about a room as though he’d never been there. He was so tidy; he was such a _good boy_. When everything else failed, when the words moved around too much for him to read or when he was being too needy or obnoxious or dumb, he could at least be _clean_ and now he wasn’t even _that_ and he’d just gotten a detention on his record and this _couldn’t be happening._

He panicked, descending upon the chaos immediately and shucking his backpack to the side of the door. Chad grabbed up his trashcan and made a beeline for the mirror, because broken glass was _dangerous_ , _Chadwick_ , he had to learn not to be so _clumsy_ and get his own water like a _big boy_ fuck-fuck- _fuck_ his hands were shaking as he swept what pieces he could off his dresser and into his trashcan. Then, he moved onto the floor. 

Messy, messy, messy, he couldn’t- it had to be _clean_. It was one of the things he was good at, it was one of the things he was _proud of_ and he couldn’t leave a mess. He didn’t even remember making this one, but maybe he had. Maybe he’d had a nightmare, or something, or a night terror. Maybe he’d sleep walked? He didn’t know. _He didn’t know_.

“Hey, Chad,” a voice drawled near the door, not that Chad was paying super attention to it. “Looks like you’ve got a bit of a mess- _what are you doing?_ ”

Movement, and then Jay was crouching down beside Chad, looking at him like he was a crazy person.

“S’dirty,” Chad mumbled, picking up the small pieces of glass and distantly aware of the blood smearing on his fingers. He must have cut it on the glass. _Stupid_. “I can’t- I can’t be dirty, it has to be _clean_.”

“Fucking- use a broom or some shit, you _weirdo_ ,” Jay said, still just sort of hovering. “You’re getting blood on everything.”

“What?” Chad flinched back staring at his hands in horror and then looking at the carpet, and luckily it was dark so he didn’t see any stains but that didn’t mean they weren’t going to happen. “Oh no. No, no, _no_ – I can’t make a mess. I’m not supposed to make a mess.”

Jay didn’t seem to have anything to say to that, so Chad left him, stumbling towards the bathroom and feeling an immense wave of relief when that was just as he left it. He fumbled with the water faucet, shoving his bleeding fingers under the water and hoping he could get them clean so he could get the _room_ clean and then maybe he could sleep. He couldn’t sleep with it messy, like this.

“ _What happened?_ ” Doug’s voice echoed from the other room, and though Chad didn’t look up, he could see Jay turn in his peripherals, the Isle teen lingering in the door to the bathroom.

“…your friend’s having a breakdown,” Jay offered.

“Chad did this?” Doug asked, joining Jay near the door. “There’s no way. Chad is, strangely enough, the neatest person I know. He spends like, fifteen minutes arranging his _pillows_ every night.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Jay said. “I came in because the door was open and he was freaking out, picking glass up with his bare hands-”

“Aw, _shit_ ,” Doug huffed, and it was weird, hearing Doug curse because he so rarely did it, but Chad couldn’t even be amused by this because his _hands were still bleeding_. “Can you stay with him and make sure he doesn’t hurt himself? I’ve got to go get Fairy Godmother. She warned me about this.”

“She warned you that Chad was a neat freak?” Jay asked, and then they might have kept talking and they might _not_ have but Chad didn’t care because he _had_ to get his hands clean. 

It hurt. The soap hurt, the water hurt, the scrubbing hurt. But it was worth it, to be clean. If he just kept scrubbing eventually they’d come up dry-

“Hey, dumb fuck, stop it,” Jay was saying, pulling Chad’s scrubbed raw hands from the water. “We need to apply pressure and you need to stop _washing your hands_.”

“But they’re _dirty_ ,” Chad whined, his gaze torn between Jay and the few blood smears that had gotten on his shirt. He’d have to throw it away now. “They’ve got to be clean; I have to keep them clean, it’s one of the things I’m good at.”

Jay paused for a moment, then shook his head, more or less shoving Chad to sit down on the toilet. 

“Stay still,” he ordered, and then he grabbed Chad’s blue hand towel, which would not do, he couldn’t get blood on _that_ , so Chad ducked his hands away and then Jay scowled and long story short, Chad lost that fight so he started crying while Jay applied pressure and Chad ruined his towel because that was what he did.

“Sweet _evil_ ,” Jay huffed, bowing his head. “I came here to warn you not to mess with Evie again, but you’re not even thinking about her, are you?”

“What?” At this point, Chad could barely remember who Evie _was_. “No. The mess, Jay-”

“ _That’s_ what bothers you?” Jay asked, even though Chad would think that much was obvious. “Not the stuff that got broken?”

Chad didn’t understand the question. “It’s just stuff, Jay,” he said somewhat helplessly. “I’m used to having less. It’s okay, it’s just- it’s not okay that it’s _dirty_.”

Jay stared at him like he was an incomprehensible being. “You are a weird little freak, aren’t you?” He scoffed. “Evie sure knows how to pick ‘em.”

Chad decided not to ask who Evie was again, because he was almost certain that would lead to another one of his towels getting ruined. He didn’t know _how_ it would happen, it just would.

“Am I good now?” Chad asked instead, fidgeting restlessly. “I’ve got a first aid kit under the sink. If I just put on some band aids-”

“Oh my _goodness_ ,” Fairy Godmother’s voice carried from the main room, and Chad moved towards it on instinct. He wasn’t supposed to disappoint her because of his mom, but he found that he often did that anyway. “What happened here?”

“I dunno,” Chad answered honestly, trying to keep his gaze on her and not the _mess_ because this was humiliating. “I must have… I don’t remember doing it but I must have…”

“Chad, sweetheart,” Fairy Godmother said in that soft tone she used when she tried to be especially kind. “Was it like this when you left?”

“No.” Chad shook his head, tension easing from his shoulders now that he had a chance to really think about it. He’d been distracted by the mess before.

“But it _was_ like this when you got back?” Fairy Godmother said, and when Chad nodded, he finally realized that someone _else_ must have made the mess. 

He wasn’t sure who though, no one generally spent that kind of time on Chad.

Fairy Godmother got that look on her face that was just a little bit sad. “Why don’t you pack a bag for the night, dear?” she said quietly. “You and Doug both. I’ll have a cleaning crew come take care of this and things will be back to normal tomorrow.”

Chad tensed. “But-”

“ _You_ didn’t make the mess, Chad,” she explained carefully. “Therefore you are not obligated to clean it up, okay? This is not your fault, so it will not be counted against you.”

The words seemed to ease the vicelike clamp that had settled around Chad’s chest, until he could finally _breathe_ again. “O…Okay,” Chad said, turning his gaze to the ceiling because at least _that_ wasn’t dirty. 

“Excellent,” Fairy Godmother chirped. “Now Doug, why don’t you help Chad get some band aids on those fingers while Jay and I have a quick conversation.”

Jay’s shoulders tensed. “I didn’t do anything.”

“I didn’t say you did, pumpkin,” Fairy Godmother chirped. “That isn’t what I wanted to talk about anyway.”

“Umm…” Chad was partially interested in whatever they were going to say, but mostly he was just tired, and if he got band aids he would stop bleeding, and he didn’t want to inconvenience Doug more than he had, so he just went back to the bathroom.

Things would be fine. They’d be _fine_. Fairy Godmother had promised.

Well, she didn’t say as much, but she was his mom’s Fairy Godmother. If Chad couldn’t trust her, who could he trust?

-:-:-:-:-:-

** Chapter 9 – The Version of the Ending with Celia **

Notes: _So originally I wasn’t sure how long Chad and Ben were going to be love potioned, but I figured it would be long enough for the new VKs to come over. That didn’t end up happening, which meant Celia wasn’t with them for the ending, but if she had been, this was what I had written_.

-:-:-:-:-:-

An hour later, she may or may not have been eating her words because Audrey didn’t hate _Chad_ so much as his happiness, and she found her own in the arms of one Mal Bertha, who wasn’t going to let her girlfriend go power crazy under the whiles of her mom’s scepter.

“So,” Uma said later when they were huddling in their respective pairs outside Auradon Prep. “I guess this is what a happy ending feels like.”

“Says _you_ guys,” Celia muttered from her spot all alone.

“Aw, don’t worry Celia,” Gil said, his smile bright and earnest. “We’ll get you back to Dizzy real soon.”

“Dizzy, my cousin?” Chad perked up, and then Celia was blushing, and then Chad had some _questions_ because his cousin deserved the very best, and he was going to do _his_ best to make sure she got it.

“I love you guys,” Evie giggled, leaning into their joint hold. 

“Yeah,” Ben said, gazing at all of them in a sort of open adoration. “I love you guys too.”

And that, wonderfully enough, was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was all she wrote :)
> 
> Until next time


End file.
